Blood And Roses MCR THE AFTERMATH OF SING
by AlterationLover
Summary: Following the distruction of SING, two killjoys, Synthetic Flame and Crimson Pixie rescue the killjoys
1. Dying In The Process

**Disclaimer : I don't own MCR, any of the members of MCR, or the Fabulous Killjoys. None of these characters are based on real people. I only own the plot and the OC's.**

Battery City was silent. Clouds of dust billowed in the still air. Everything was silent. There were no birds singing out. There hadn't been birds for years. Not since before the fires of 2012.

Suddenly, though all the dust and haze, two figures became visible. They walked swiftly; ray guns raised high, waiting for anyone to attack. If they dared, that is.

Synthetic Flame stood tall on the left, ray gun pointed out in front of her, her shocking purple hair billowing behind. Beside her stood her good friend and companion, Crimson Pixie whose violently cut black and red hair was tucked inside the mask that covered her eyes. They were beautiful and terrifying, like blood and roses.

They shone through the ashes like searchlights as they made their way through the deserted landscape that was Battery City. They kept their ray guns up even though the city seemed to be deserted.

Without speaking, they made their way around the BL/ind vans that sat in rows along the side of the main building. No one was in sight.

Suddenly, they came across a car that was very different from the rest of the BL/ind vans. It was old and dusty; a large spider airbrushed on its hood, and lying on the spider was the body of a man. The girls rushed over. He had brown hair that spiralled out from his scalp and an eye-patch covering his right eye. His left stared blankly up at the sky. Even in the dark, the ray gun wound was evident. A shocking scorch mark on his dusty jacket.

Crimson reached up, and with her thumb, she slowly closed his left eye. A silent tear fell down her cheek from under her mask and into the dead man's curly hair.

"Jet Star," she spoke softly, holding back the tears that were threatening to fall, "You shall not be forgotten,"

Synthetic Flame put a hand on her friend's shoulder and squeezed it comfortingly.

"There's nothing we can do," she said, her voice barely more than a whisper,

Crimson sniffed, looking away from Jet Star, and nodded. The two continued on through the city until they reached the main building's front doors.

Drac's littered the ground surrounding the glass doors, ray gun burns staining their pristine white uniforms. Flame couldn't help but feel sorry for them. Poor, innocent people, brainwashed by BL/ind. But there was nothing they could do to save them. They were gone now.

Flame shuddered as she peered through the doors. Amidst the white, she could see colours, and that only meant one thing.

Opening the door, the first thing they saw was the body. Facing the sky, you could see the faint trace of a smile on his lips, as though he was mocking BL/ind like he had done for a good portion of his life. The wound just above his heart still smoked, and his shirt was slightly up, revealing the many tattoos that were on his stomach. Fun Ghoul looked so peaceful in death.

Flame knelt down beside him, brushing away the stray strands of hair that covered his face. He was unmoving and silent. A pure angel.

"You brave, brave soldier," Flame whispered, kissing his cold forehead lightly.

She stood up, and out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a flash of red., she turned around to see a man with blonde hair and a red jacket laying on the ground a few metres away. The two girls walked over through the maze of Drac bodies.

As they came closer, they realised that his ray gun was still in his gloved hand. Crimson knelt beside him, brushing Kobra Kid's blonde hair away from his beautiful face. But no sooner had her hand touched his skin when he grabbed her arm with his free hand, putting his ray gun up to her head.

"Who are you?" he managed to choke out, and although his voice was weak, his hold on her was not.

"C-Crimson Pixie," she stuttered, shying away from the ray gun that was pointed straight at her temple.

"And you?" Kobra suddenly turned the ray gun on Flame who stood paralysed above them. He didn't release his hold on Crimson.

"Synthetic Flame," she whispered, shocked that Kobra Kid was still alive, "H-how …?"

"I just got shot in the arm," he winced, "Where are the others?"

Crimson and Flame exchanged nervous glances. Kobra continued to stare at them, waiting for an answer.

Finally, Flame sighed sadly.

"They're dead," she said softly,

Kobra's eyes widened in horror, and he swallowed hard. Then suddenly, his eyes began to glow, not with horror, but with relief.

He let go of Crimson, apologizing. She smiled acceptingly as she rubbed her wrist. Kobra then stuck his hand into his pocket and fished out a vial of glowing green liquid.

He pulled himself up into a sitting position. Flame offered her hand and he gladly accepted. She pulled him to his feet.

Once he was standing, the girls could clearly see his wound through the hole in his jacket. It was red raw and glistened with blood.

"We should get that looked at-" Crimson began, but Kobra cut her off,

"No time. Where are the others?"

Flame pointed at Fun Ghoul who lay about ten metres away. Kobra ran over to him, and kneeled beside his head. He uncorked the vial and poured some of the green liquid onto Ghoul's wound.

Suddenly Ghoul began to shake violently, his body exploding in tremors. The ray gun wound began to smoke green putrid gasses. Green liquid spilled out of his mouth as he made a horrible gagging noise. He gave one more violent shudder and was still.

Both the girls stood back in horror at what they'd just witnessed. Crimson's hand covered her mouth and she shook her head. _It didn't work_, she thought, _Whatever it was, it didn't work_.

But suddenly, there was a flicker on Ghoul's face. Just a slight movement. And then, his eye lids flickered, revealing his hazel eyes as they stared up, confused at the three figures that stood above him.

Both Flame and Crimson's mouths opened in shock. They had just witnessed a dead man come to life again, a feat they never thought was possible.

"What _was_ that stuff?" Flame asked, shocked.

"I found it in the BL/ind lab," Kobra said, smiling, "It can bring people back to life,"

"That's incredible," Crimson gasped,

"Um, hello?" came a voice from the floor. They all turned around to see Ghoul still lying on the floor, a look on his face, "I'm still here!"

Kobra grinned widely as he helped his friend to his feet. Ghoul smoothed out his shirt and picked up his neon green ray gun from the ground.

"So what just happened?" he asked, "And who the hell are they?" he motioned at Crimson and Flame.

They introduced themselves and explained how they had heard about the raid on Battery City and had come to scope out the situation.

"We would have got here earlier," Flame continued, "If we hadn't run into a horde of Dracs,"

"So why was I just lying on the floor," Ghoul asked, "And-SHIT!- why does my shoulder hurt so bad?"

"Um," Kobra said, rubbing his neck awkwardly, "I kind of just brought you back from the dead …"

"Wait … seriously?" Ghoul said excitedly, "So I was dead, and you brought me back to life?"

Kobra nodded, suppressing a laugh.

"That's so sick!" Ghoul punched his fist in the air, doing a little dance that made everyone giggle,

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Kobra laughed, "Now come on, we have to go bring Jet back too,"

Kobra and Ghoul followed Flame and Crimson outside to where Jet Star lay on the hood of the car. Kobra poured some of the neon liquid onto his wound. Jet Star shook just as Ghoul had done.

"But I looked way more sexy when I was coming back from the dead," he remarked, making Crimson giggle,

"You wish," Jet Star suddenly croaked, a faint smile forming on his lips. He opened his eye, peering up at the group.

"Welcome back, Jet," Kobra said with a smile as he offered Jet Star his hand, helping him up,

"Alright, two down, one to go," Kobra said once Jet Star had finished dusting himself off, "Now where's Poison?"

The two girls looked at each other again, this time looking worried.

"Where's Poison?" Kobra asked again, "Where's my brother? I saw Korse shoot him, then I shot Korse in the leg. He was down,"

"We didn't see Poison or Korse," Flame said worriedly,

Suddenly the whole group gasped.

Korse had taken Party Poison.


	2. We're Dead Flies In The Summertime

Soon enough, Jet Star, Kobra Kid, Fun Ghoul, Crimson Pixie and Synthetic Flame were packed into the rusty car where the two girls had found Jet. They drove along through the silent night, not speaking. No one could believe that Korse had taken Poison, but they all knew it was true.

Ghoul suddenly broke the silence.

"Where are we even going?" he said, "Where would Korse go, with Battery City in such turmoil?"

"He'd go out to one of the Drac hideouts," Jet said from behind the wheel, "And when Battery City is back intact, he'll head back,"

"So what?" Ghoul said, "We're just going to check every Drac hideout until we find Korse and Poison?"

Kobra nodded instantly. Poison was his brother, and he was going after him, even if it meant alone.

Ghoul looked incredulously at the others.

"But-" he was cut off as Crimson gave a shout, pointing out into the vast landscape of the desert. On the horizon was a flickering light, like that of a bonfire.

"What the hell …?" Flame said as she squinted out through the darkness, "Is that fire?"

Kobra nodded, looking curiously out his own window.

"I think it might be," he muttered, "Hey, Jet? Start driving over there,"

Jet Star turned the steering wheel to the right, off the dusty path and onto the desert dirt.

As they drove closer and closer, the light became clearer, and soon they had no doubt in their minds that it was a giant bonfire.

"Who's setting up a bonfire so close to a Drac camp?" Jet asked curiously, "There's one only twenty miles away,"

They drove in silence for another minute or two until Jet finally parked the car, and the group got out. As their feet landed on the dry soil, clouds of dust floated up into the air.

They walked closer to the massive fire, shading their eyes from the light. Crimson's face began to sting as the heat-waves radiated over her, and everyone began to sweat in their heavy leather clothes. Kobra actually took off his leather jacket and placed it on the hood of the car. His arms were well toned, but his left still had the large gouge from the ray gun.

"We really need to clean that up," Crimson began, but he waved her off.

"We'll get it when we get back to one of our safe houses," he muttered, "I'm fine,"

As they got closer and closer to the fire, the heat intensified, and everyone's eyes began to sting from the blinding light, but still they continued to walk.

The desert was silent but for the crackle of the flames and the thump of their boots on the dust.

When they were about ten metres away from the fire, they heard a different noise. It was a sharp intake of breath and then the soft click as someone loaded a ray gun. The all took out theirs, Jet's blue, Ghoul's green, Kobra's red, Flame's purple and Crimson's orange, and pointed them in the general direction of where they had heard the breath.

Suddenly there was a movement, and they all fired, multicoloured rays filling the air.

"Stop, don't shoot!" came a voice, "I'm one of you!"

They stopped firing, but didn't lower their weapons. They made their way around to the other side of the campfire where a woman was standing. She was dressed in killjoy gear, and her ray gun was silver, and reflected the dancing flames beautifully.

"Who are you?" Kobra demanded in the same voice as when he had asked Crimson and Flame the same question,

"Beautiful Disaster," she said. She was around the same age as Flame, and had jet black hair that fell straight down her back. Her bangs hid her forehead and eyebrows, and her eyes were as black as the night.

"What are you doing out here?" Jet Star asked Disaster,

"Same as you guys, I guess," she shrugged, "Trying to survive,"

"Have you seen any Drac cars drive by recently?" Ghoul asked, putting his ray gun back in its holster.

She scratched her head, thinking. The crackling of the fire was the only sound that was heard for a few moments.

"I think one passed by maybe … five hours ago?" she said eventually, "The sun was just starting to set, and I was beginning to make this," she gestured at the bonfire, "And I heard the car coming. I thought I was done for! There was no where to hide, so I just stood there. Certain they were going to come and capture me, I got out my ray gun, ready to fight, but they just drove right on by! I've never seen anything like it!"

The group looked at one another, and they were all thinking the same thing. It had to have been the car that was carrying Korse and Poison.

They looked back at Disaster who was standing there, looking at them all curiously.

"Which way did they go?" Kobra asked after a moment,

Disaster pointed to the South.

"They were driving that way," she said,

"Thank you very much," Kobra said, and they all turned to walk away.

"Wait!" Disaster yelled after them. They turned, "You're just going to leave me here?"

They exchanged glances before Kobra sighed and motioned for Disaster to follow. She gave a little jump and jogged after them.

"So what's going on?" she asked once she had caught up to them, "Why did you want to know where the Drac car was headed?"

Kobra explained the whole story, how Korse had captured Party Poison and was currently transporting his dead body around the Zones.

"Hey, you forgot about how Crimson and Flame saved our lives!" Ghoul cut in, and Crimson blushed deeply, glad that her mask hid her as the blood rushed up to her cheeks.

They continued walking to the car. On the way, they found out that Disaster was a bit eccentric, but pretty good company. She asked a little too many questions, but then again, she had showed the other killjoys where to go, so it was the least they could to answer them.

Once they reached the car, they were faced with a problem. There were six people and only five seats.

"Shit ..." Kobra cursed under his breath, "I'd forgotten about that,"

"I'm sure we can fit four people in the back," Flame said.

And so, Ghoul, Flame, Crimson and Disaster squeezed themselves into the back of the car, while Jet and Kobra sat in the front. It was not comfortable, and it was not fun, but they were all in.

"Alright," Kobra said, looking at the squished passengers in the back, "Next stop, Drac hideout number one!"

Jet slammed down on the accelerator, and the car zoomed off into the night, leaving a cloud of ash behind them as they went.


	3. Move Your Body When The Sunlight Dies

The white car drove silently through the night, its tinted windows stopping the violent fluorescent interior lights. All was quiet. Korse stared down at the white body bag that sat on the table next to him.

Suddenly, he grasped the silver zipper on the bag in his long, pale fingers and wrenched it downwards, revealing a beautiful man with blazing red hair. The only thing that ruined his face was the grotesque ray gun wound under his chin. It was still seeping blood. His face was peaceful though, almost like he was just sleeping.

Korse smiled evilly down at the body, remembering the moment when he had put his ray gun to the killjoy and fired. The way the killjoy was not afraid to die. He had laughed at him. How foolish he was.

Then he remembered in anger at how that other killjoy… Kobra Kid, had shot him in the leg. Oh, how glad Korse was that he had died. The only regret he had was that he wasn't the one to kill him.

Korse slowly zipped up the body bag once again. The car continued to drive through the dark night, without a sound.

The killjoys soon arrived at the Drac hideout. They clambered out of the car, making sure not to fall onto the soil of the desert. The Drac hideout was a white building, much like the ones in Battery City, but much smaller, and dustier. The group made their way towards the building.

"Hey, stand back," Ghoul smiled at Crimson, and her eyes widened in happiness as Ghoul stood in front of her, protecting her. Flame caught the look and smiled, chuckling slightly.

They made there way closer to the building. When they were about twenty metres away, they all raised their ray guns, waiting for an attack. But none came. The came closer to the building, and still, there was no signs that anybody was going to assault them.

Suddenly Flame saw movement out of the corner of her eye and spun round, ray gun raised. But there was nothing but desert. The others looked at her curiously, but she shrugged it off, thinking it must have been a trick of the light.

Kobra stepped forward, and slowly inched the door open. He peered inside before turning back to the group and motioning for them to follow. They all stepped cautiously into the room. It was dark for a moment, but then there was a flick and all the lights flickered to life.

The group gasped, and Crimson's hand shot out and grasped Ghoul's. He squeezed it tightly, shocked himself.

There were hundreds of Dracs lying on the ground, slaughtered violently. Blood covered the floor. It was a total massacre. Limbs had been sawed off, gouges as wide as a fist poked through their skin, one Drac was even missing its head.

Flame gulped, choking back the bile that was rising in her throat. She couldn't believe any killjoy would do this. Not this violently. It was like an _animal_ had come and butchered the Dracs. It was that inhumane.

"What happened here?" Kobra managed to choke out, his voice very quiet.

Crimson shook her head, tears forming in her eyes. Ghoul pulled her into a hug, whispering in her ear comfortingly and patting her back as she sobbed into his chest.

"They didn't deserve to die this way …" Jet said softly, barely audible over Crimson's muffled sobs, "No one does …"

Flame looked down as tears sprung up in her eyes as well, but she quickly wiped them away. She was strong. She wouldn't cry. She hadn't cried when her parents had been captured by the Drac's, leaving her on her own, and she wouldn't cry now.

"Well," came a voice from behind them, and they all turned around to see Disaster standing in the doorway, "We should probably go,"

"And just leave them?" Kobra said incredulously,

"We can't save them," Disaster replied. Kobra pulled out the almost empty vial from his jacket pocket and stared at the green liquid inside.

Flame put her hand on his shoulder.

"There's not enough to save them all," she said softly, and Kobra knew she was right. He put the vial back into his pocket and walked out after Disaster, followed shortly after by Flame and Jet.

Crimson stopped crying and looked up at Ghoul, who gave her a sad smile which she returned. Together they followed the others out into the desert night, not letting go of each others hands.

"They have arrived at Draculoid Occupation Unit 3329, sir," came a voice from the speaker inside the Drac car, "The spy has seen them,"

Korse smiled evilly.

Wonderful, they were following them. They had indeed thought that he would take their beloved Party Poison.

All was going according to plan.


	4. Until My Heart Explodes

The safe-house neared closer as the sun began to rise over the desert horizon that seemed to go on forever. The car drove along the dusty plains, and the house seemed to glow in the morning sun, a sparkle in the bland landscape.

The entire group was silent, not wanting to speak about what they had witnessed at the Drac hideout. The silence hung in the air like a cloud of sorrow. Crimson had fallen asleep, resting her head on Ghoul's shoulder. She had not let go of his hand for the whole journey.

Flame remained wide awake though. She couldn't get the image out of her head. What could have done it? It wasn't killjoy doing, that she was certain of. But then what could it be? There hadn't been animals for years, so … what?

She was awoken from her trance by Jet Star's voice,

"We're here everyone," he said loudly as the car pulled to a stop, dust clouds billowing up as the wheels stopped turning. Crimson woke with a start, sitting up, but then calming down once she realised who she was with.

The group hopped out of the car into the hot desert sunlight. The heat was intense, even early in the morning, so they hurried along the hard ground to the shining safe-house. In reality, it was just a dusty old building, but for some reason to the group it looked like heaven. It had been so long since they'd had somewhere they knew they would be safe.

The interior of the safe-house was small, with only four rooms, a main area that doubled as a kitchen and dining room, a bathroom, a main bedroom with one mattress, and a spare room that had six hammocks.

As soon as they walked in, they began to work. Jet Star was at the stove in a flash, cooking up cans of beans for them all, Flame and Kobra were sitting at the large plastic table, looking over a map of the Zones, seeing where the next couple of Drac hideouts were, Ghoul was making sure the water was running, and Crimson was setting up the sleeping areas.

After a couple of minutes, Jet called the group over to the table where Kobra and Flame were already seated.

They were gathered around the small, plastic table, spooning their canned beans into their open, eager mouths. They were hovering over a map of the Zones. 

"So there are twenty four Drac hideouts in total," Kobra said, pointing at the X's marked on the map, "But we've already ... covered one ..."  
The whole group shuddered at the memory of the white floors soaked in the crimson blood, the eyes of the Drac's staring blankly at nothing. Crimson seemed to be the most disturbed out of all of them. 

Kobra and Flame continued to discuss tactics as to which Drac camps they would be going to next. Jet gathered up the dirty forks and empty cans of beans and washed them, throwing the cans into a plastic bag that substituted as a garbage. Crimson disappeared into the bedroom, shutting the door softly behind her. 

Ghoul walked into the bedroom a couple of minutes later, only to find it empty. The door that led outside, however, was slightly ajar, so he assumed Crimson had gone outside for some time alone. He didn't want to bother her, so he slipped off his shirt, laying it down on his hammock, and proceeded into the bathroom for a shower. 

However, as soon as he walked into the bathroom, he realized he was not alone. Crimson was sitting in the corner of the room, tears streaming down her pale face, and a photograph clutched in her small hands. She looked up as he entered the room, her big, red-rimmed eyes widening at the sight of his bare, tattooed chest, but she didn't speak. Ghoul walked over and sat down next to her. 

"She was my sister," Crimson sniffed, motioning at the girl in the photograph, who looked to be about twelve or thirteen. She looked like a younger version of Crimson. They both shared the same big green eyes and beautiful smiles. But where Crimson had black and red hair, the girl had dirty blonde hair down to her chin. 

"She was called Alteration Lover," Crimson continued, choking back the tears, "We were running together. She was thirteen when this photo was taken," 

"What happened to her?" Ghoul asked, his voice suddenly quiet. He was afraid of the answer. 

"The S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W unit," she sobbed, clutching the picture so hard her knuckles turned white, "I remember it so vividly ...

"We were running," she began, tears spilling silently down her cheeks, "The S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W was after up, and we were trying to reach the nearest safe-house. But she was exhausted, and we still had miles to go. She begged me to let her stop, to wait while she caught her breath. And I let her. I waited a couple of meters ahead for her. 

"But it appeared so quickly, like a flash of light. I didn't even have time to call out to her before she fell, blood seeping from the gaping hole in her back. The S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W unit retracted its arm, and it glistened with blood. Her blood. I pulled out my ray gun and fired. It hit the S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W point blank, and it collapsed, disintegrating into ashes as it fell. 

"I carried Alteration all the way to the safe-house. I remember how ragged her breathing was, so rough ... 

"I held her in my arms once we were safe. The last words she ever said to me were, 'Don't worry, Crim. I'm going to see the birds. How beautiful they were. I'm glad we'll be together soon,' and then she was gone. She was only fourteen," 

Crimson Pixie broke down, sobbing hard into Ghoul's bare chest. He held her close as she cried. He understood now. He understood why Crimson had been so horrified when they had encountered the scene at the Drac camp. He also understood how the Drac's had died. But what he didn't understand was _why_? Why would the S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W turn on the Drac's? That was what he couldn't comprehend. 

Crimson stopped sobbing after a few moments and looked up to stare into Ghoul's hazel eyes. A silent tear fell from Crimson's green eye. Ghoul brushed it away with his thumb, his hand lingering on her face. Even though her face was red and her eyes bloodshot from all the crying, she was still the most beautiful being he'd ever laid eyes on. 

Ghoul leaned in and Crimson tilted her head, both closing their eyes. Her breath was warm and sweet on his face. 

And then the distance was gone. Their lips met in the softest and sweetest of touches. But there was no denying the power that lay behind that kiss, the power that tingled through both of their bodies. But also the loss. Loss and gut-wrenching sorrow flooded the kiss, making it almost unbearable. But they didn't stop. They let the pain and the sadness wash over them and cleanse their souls. As they held each other close on the cracked and broken tiles of the bathroom, they knew then that with each second they spent together; their broken hearts would begin to stitch back up, piece by piece.

But they knew they'd never be fully healed.


	5. Na Na Na

The sun rose, casting the desert in a warm, orange light. Flame opened her eyes slowly, yawning. She looked around at the surrounding hammocks. Two were empty. Ghoul's and Crimson's. She smiled to herself before swinging off her hammock. She woke Jet, Kobra and Disaster, and they all followed her out into the main room.

Crimson and Ghoul were sitting at the table, each with a can of beans in their hands.

"Hey, where were you guys last night?" Jet asked groggily, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, "Last I saw, you guys both disappeared into the other bedroom, and …"

He stopped, blood rushing to his face as he realized exactly what he was implying. Flame chuckled softly as both Ghoul's and Crimson's faces turned a bright shade of red. They had in fact, done nothing of the sort though. After the 'incident' in the bathroom, Ghoul and Crimson had went into the bedroom, but just to lie on the bed and look up through the hole in the ceiling. They had not slept a wink, but just lay in each others arms, soaking in the light from the stars.

It was Kobra who broke the awkward silence that followed Jet's remark.

"Well," he said, still a bit awkwardly, "We should be heading out. There are two Drac camps ahead of us before we reach the next safe-house,"

The group ate one last can of beans each, depositing the metal remains in the trash, before gathering up what little belongings they possessed and exiting the safe-house into the now fully risen desert sunlight.

"God, it's hot," Disaster groaned, fanning herself with her hand,

The group looked at her curiously. They weren't hot at all, since they'd gotten used to the heat of the desert a long time ago, and the sun wasn't even fully up. It was going to get much hotter than it was now.

"Well, I mean," Disaster said quickly, "I had just gotten used to the coolness of the safe-house, that the heat kind of caught me by surprise,"

The rest of the group shrugged it off, but Crimson was not convinced. There was something was up with Beautiful Disaster, something not right. And she was going to find out what. But for now, she pushed the thought out of her head and clambered into the car after Ghoul, followed shortly after by Disaster.

The sun slowly rose in the sky as the killjoys crossed the miles of empty desert wasteland to the next Drac camp.

"Na na na na, na na na, na na na na na na," Crimson suddenly began to sing in her high pitched voice,

"Na na na na, na na na, na na na na na na," Ghoul continued, making Crimson grin.

Soon the whole group started adding in 'na's until they had a nice little chorus going.

"Drugs, gimme drugs, gimme drugs, I don't need them, but I'll sell what you got, take the cash and I'll keep it," Jet suddenly sang,

"Eight legs to the wall," Flame continued, grinning widely, "Hit the gas, kill them all,"

"And we crawl, and we crawl, and we crawl," Kobra sang, laughing out loud,

"I'll be your detonator!" Flame sang,

"Love, gimme love, gimme love, I don't need it," Ghoul sang, looking straight at Crimson, making her blush, "But I'll take what I want from your heart and I'll keep it,"

"In a bag!" Jet added,

"In a box!" Flame yelled

"Put an X on the floor!" Kobra sang

"Gimme more, gimme more, gimme more," Jet said,

"Shut up and sing it with me!" Crimson ended the verse, and started up the Na's again. Suddenly Crimson pointed at Flame.

"For mall security?" she blurted out, the rest of the group continuing the Na's. Crimson laughed, pointing at Kobra,

"To every enemy!" he sang. Crimson pointed at Jet,

"We're on your property!"

"Standing in V formation!" Ghoul sang, laughing.

"Let's blow an artery!" Jet continued,

"Eat plastic surgery!" Crimson stuck out her tongue and the whole group laughed.

"Keep your apology!"

"Give us more, detonation!" the whole group sang the last line together and then burst out laughing.

"More, gimme more, gimme more!" Flame and Jet sang together,

"Oh let me tell you 'bout the sad man," Kobra continued,

"Shut up and let me see your jazz hands!" Crimson sang, flashing her jazz hands.

"Remember when you were a mad man?" Jet said,

"Thought you was Batman!" Ghoul laughed,

"And hit the party with a gas can!"

"Kiss me you animal!" Crimson sang to Ghoul, and he did, causing the group to erupt in wolf-whistles. Both Ghoul and Crimson stuck up the middle finger, but that only made them laugh harder.

They continued on like that, singing random lyrics that sounded good together, and having a good time. The only one who didn't join in with the group's fun was Disaster. She just sat looking out the window as the landscape passed by, not making a sound. No one noticed it but Crimson, who, amidst the laughter and the pandemonium, managed to look at Disaster and realize how different she looked from the others. Her hair was straight and well kept, not at all like her own short, tangled hair. Her clothes were clean and in neutral colours, so unlike Flame's dusty orange shirt and pink beads. Crimson didn't understand why, but she knew there was something up with Disaster, and she wanted to find out.

"We're here!" Jet called, bringing her out of her thoughts. Sure enough, on the horizon, the killjoys could see a shining white building, glistening in the afternoon sun.

Jet continued to drive until they were about a five minute walk away from the Drac camp, where he parked the spider car. The group got out of the dusty vehicle and stared at the building, shading their eyes from the glare.

"You ready for this?" Kobra asked the group. Without looking at each other, Ghoul and Crimson joined hands and nodded once.

They released their grip on each other after a moment, taking out their ray guns instead.

Flame was calm, ready for the fight that was bound to occur. She was ready to die, if necessary.

The killjoy walked forward in silence, their boots hitting the dusty ground hard. Kobra breathed deeply, readying himself for the fight ahead. Jet was calm and collected as usual, although deep down, he felt nervous. Ghoul was feeling very anxious, but not for himself. He knew that if Crimson didn't make it out … no, he told himself firmly, She would make it out.

As they neared the building, the anxiety inside Jet began to grow. Why was no one attacking? Why had no one set off some sort of alarm? Surely the Drac's could see them, so why weren't they attacking?

They were so close to the building that if they reached out with their arms, their fingers would brush against the blisteringly hot metal. The group walked along the side of the building until they reached the door. Silently, they all raised their ray guns, and Kobra and Flame positioned themselves in front of the door. Flame held up three fingers, putting one down at a time. When she put her index finger down, she plunged her fist down as well.

As soon as she punched her fist down, Kobra kicked the door. Hard. The metal door that was too hot to touch swung on its hinges, smashing against the inside wall of the hideout. Then the attack began.

The Drac's swarmed, and the killjoys fired ray after ray as they ran into the camp. Flame had already taken down five Drac's before she'd even crossed the threshold. Kobra was like a ninja, kicking and punching as well as firing rays. Jet was more subtle, conserving his rays. He was more focused on searching the building for Korse and Poison.

Ghoul was a tyrant, showing no mercy. The look on his face was pure loathing as he took down Drac after Drac.

Crimson was becoming overwhelmed. Although she was an exceptional fighter, she was facing over fifteen Drac's single handedly. But just as things were starting to get difficult, Flame swooped in. They stood back to back, firing at any moving object that wasn't colourful.

"Thanks sis," Crimson said over the roar of the rays. Flame smiled,

"Never a problem," she winked,

Jet ran into the other room of the safe-house. There were certainly signs that Korse had been here. A glass _tank_ that was big enough for a person to stand in was placed in the left hand corner of the room. Jet steered himself over to it and began to press buttons. It was Korse's regenerating room, the thing that charged up his robot body, and kept his human mind working. Jet punched in a serial code, and digits flashed up on a small screen. Korse had been in this safe-house not fifteen hours before them. Jet yelled in agitation, running back to the main room.

"He's gone!" Jet shouted, "He left here about fifteen hours ago,"

The group ran through the Drac's, avoiding the rays, to the front door. They escaped out the still open door and into the blazing sunshine. They fired their ray guns over their shoulders as they fled to the spider car.

Jumping into the car, Jet slammed down on the accelerator before letting out a sigh.

"They knew we were coming," he said, "There's no way they would have waited for us to come in before they attacked. Something's not right,"

Crimson looked over at Disaster. Jet was right. Something was not right at all …


	6. Everybody Hide Your Body

As the night began to settle, so did the killjoys. They had parked the spider car just off of the desert road, and had set up camp. Disaster had helped with building a bonfire, and the rest had tucked into their supply of beans.

"Eew," Flame smirked after scraping her can clean with her fork, "I think if I have to eat another can of beans EVER, I'm going to die,"

The group laughed. They all knew how she felt. Living on nothing but canned beans for years was not exactly enjoyable.

Crimson sighed, laying back and looking up into the night sky.

"It's so beautiful and quiet," she whispered, smiling, "That's one thing I don't miss from before. The noise,"

The killjoys silently agreed. It had been seven years since they'd heard the loud noises of morning traffic, the horns honking, people shouting. The silence was nice.

Disaster had remained silent for most of the day, and it was starting to get at Crimson. She couldn't help but look over at her black haired companion once in a while to see what she was doing. Nothing. She had done nothing but build a bonfire the whole day. Crimson couldn't even recall seeing her help out with fighting the Drac's earlier on. She couldn't even remember seeing her, for that matter. Where had she gone? Something was not right, but Crimson couldn't put her finger on it.

Suddenly something white appeared out of no where, landing on Crimson, sending her sprawling. Five ray guns appeared at once, pointing at the white being that had fallen on Crimson. She stared up, wide eyed, at the person who had dropped on top of her. They were wearing a Drac mask, but it was burned violently, so that half of it was missing. The half of her face that was visible from under the mask was also burned and bloodied, and raspy, uneven breaths were escaping from their cracked lips.

Crimson lightly pushed the Drac off her, so she was kneeling beside it as it lay on the ground. Crimson waved at the others to lower their weapons. They complied reluctantly, placing the multi-coloured guns back in their holsters.

Crimson slowly removed the Drac's mask causing the person underneath to gasp in pain. Once the white mask was gone from the beings face, it was evident that the Drac was female. Her icy blue eyes shone through the darkness, the flames dancing along her irises.

The female Drac coughed roughly, and Crimson knelt over her, brushing what remained of her brown hair away from her face.

"You … you have to …" the Drac coughed, but Crimson shushed her, sliding her soft palm over the Drac's burnt face.

"What's your name?" Crimson inquired, smiling down at the disfigured face below her.

"It … it was … Cellophane Believer," the girl managed to speak,

"You got captured, didn't you?" Crimson asked,

The defaced woman nodded slightly, her blue eyes welling with tears.

"You have … you have to leave," Cellophane spluttered.

Crimson and the others stared down at her curiously.

"Why?" she questioned, "What's wrong Cellophane?"

Cellophane removed her hand from her stomach, revealing a gouge in the skin that the others hadn't noticed before. It was slick with scarlet blood. Crimson's face paled, as did Ghoul's, the others just stared down, uncertain.

"The S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W," was the last thing they heard before a low rumbling began.

"Shit," Crimson muttered, her palms clammy, "We have to go. NOW,"

Crimson and Ghoul each grabbed one of Cellophane's arms while Flame and Kobra each took a leg. They began to drag Cellophane along to the spider car which stood about three hundred meters away.

But the rumbling began to intensify. Crimson knew what was coming. She'd heard that noise before, and wasn't going to forget it anytime soon.

She reached into her holster, grabbing her ray gun and firing aimlessly, but with no luck. The S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W was growing ever closer, and they were too slow to out run it.

Suddenly Cellophane unlatched her arm from Crimson's grasp and she fell to the hard desert floor.

"What are you doing? Come on!" Crimson yelled over the thunderous roaring.

Cellophane stood up slowly and planted a soft kiss on Crimson's cheek.

"Save yourself, I'll hold 'em back," she said with a sad smile before walking away from the shocked Killjoys, towards the sound of the rumbling.

Crimson reached out to the girl as she walked away, but Ghoul put a hand on her arm.

"Come on, we have to go," he said softly.

They ran, their feet hitting the ground hard, but they were unable to hear the thump over the deafening roar of the incoming S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W unit.

Suddenly there was a cry. Crimson glanced behind her to see Cellophane standing tall, awaiting the S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W. And suddenly it was there.

Its dark outline was menacing as it stood over Cellophane's small form.

Then, there was a gut-wrenching crunch and Cellophane fell to the ground. Crimson let out a strangled cry, trying to turn around, but Ghoul grabbed her around her waist, stopping her from turning. He half dragged her along as she cried, and he knew that Cellophane, such a young girl, probably no older than seventeen, reminded her of Alteration.

The S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W was gaining on them, discarding Cellophane's body as if it was trash. Ghoul, finally realizing that he was not going fast enough, swung Crimson over his shoulder. She seemed to have lost all movement of her limbs, so she just hung there, limp. They all ran fast and hard, their heels digging into the desert soil.

The spider car was close. Jet crossed the distance first, wrenching the door open and plunging the keys into the ignition. Flame was close behind and she flung herself into the passengers side seat, slamming the door behind her.

Kobra and Disaster shoved themselves into the back seat, squishing to allow Ghoul to place a sobbing Crimson beside them before hopping in after her.

Jet slammed down on the gas with all his might and the car lurched forward, sending a massive cloud of dust up into the air.

Jet didn't take his foot off of the gas until they were way out of reach of the S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W. Crimson continued to sob, fat tears falling down her dusty face.

Flame was in shock. She had just witnessed a complete stranger give up her life for her. Why? She'd done nothing for this girl. Cellophane hadn't owed her anything. So why? Why would she sacrifice her life for someone who was basically, a complete stranger?

The rest of the ride was silent except for the occasional sniff from Crimson. They decided to wait another night before visiting the next Drac hideout. None of them could bear to see anyone else die that night because of them.

** *Authors Note* : Sorry, I know this one's short, and I know it's a filler, but there will be LOTS more to come ! **


	7. From Yesterday

They arrived at the next safe-house within three hours. The tip of the rising sun was just visible over the desert sand, creeping its way up over the horizon. Synthetic Flame stared at the soft glow as it rose, casting a warm light over the desolate landscape. She couldn't get Cellophane Believer out of her head. The idea that some complete stranger out there was willing to give up their life to save hers baffled her. She knew that, if it were her in Cellophane's position, she wouldn't have done what she did. She didn't have the courage. She could save people, and would do anything to help them, but die? She wasn't certain how Cellophane had done it. Just standing up and facing death, even _embracing _it? She couldn't see it. And if she was going to die, she would much rather it be from a bullet through the head than the way Cellophane chose to go, being able to feel the pain until the very end. Flame looked up to poor Cellophane, the way she had chosen to die in order to save others. The way she had faced the S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W awake and unafraid.

The safe-house came into view, but no matter how much she wanted to, Flame couldn't be happy. She'd never really felt loss. When her parents were taken away to be brainwashed and turned into Dracs, she hadn't felt the pain inside that she was feeling now. She'd pushed aside any unhappy feelings, reminding herself that it was their choice. She'd told them time and time again how they should run away with her, but they'd pushed her away, laughing at even the idea. So she'd distanced herself from her parents, knowing that it was their option, not hers. So when they went into the chamber, she felt no remorse. She took down five Dracs with a stolen gun and escaped from that hell-hole that her parents had called their 'home'.

Being on the run when you're seventeen is hard, especially when you're on your own. But Flame was never one to feel sorry for herself, even then. After a few months on living on barely anything, she met Crimson, a lively girl of sixteen. But she held a secret, a terrible, horrifying secret. But Flame never asked her about it. She didn't want to butt into Crimson's life, especially when they were such new friends.

They ran for years together, meeting other killjoys occasionally, saving people, killing others. Flame could never say she was proud of the life she'd led, but she wasn't ashamed of it either. And it was better than being a mindless slave, working for a company who was only interested in total world domination. She wanted people to be free like her. Well, she wasn't free, hadn't been for a long time. Living out in nowhere, running for your life every second of every day? That wasn't free. In a way, she felt more trapped now than she ever would have as a Drac. At least when you were a Drac, you couldn't remember anything. Couldn't remember any of the sins you'd committed, any of the lives you'd taken away. It would just be black. Nothing but black until the day you die. Unfeeling and unseeing.

Jet parked the car outside of the safe-house and the others in the back climbed out of the open door. This house was a little larger on the outside, but not by much.

The group was nearly at the door before they realized that Flame was still in the car.

"Are you coming, Flame?" Kobra asked, turning around,

"I think I'm just going to stay out here for a minute," she said softly, not looking at them, "I'll catch up with you guys,"

Kobra turned back around and entered the safe-house with the others. Flame climbed out of the car and hopped onto the roof, staring at the golden sun as it crept up over the desert sand and into the azure sky. So many thoughts filled her already crowded head. Feelings flitted around her brain, some like butterflies, some like wasps. Cellophane, running, the new friends she'd made, the old friend she'd kept, to name a few. No matter how much she thought about it though, she couldn't get her mind around any of them.

Cellophane was dead. So why couldn't Flame forget her? She'd seen other people die, people she'd known better and longer. So why could she not get this girl who she'd known for five minutes out of her mind? It just didn't make sense …

Suddenly, she felt a droplet of warm wetness fall down her face. She brought her hand up to her dusty face, and brought it away with a small teardrop dangling from her fingertip. She wiped her eyes quickly, looking around to see if anyone had seen. Flame was not the kind of girl who cried. Ever. She hadn't cried since long before 2012, and she wasn't going to make a habit out of it now.

Suddenly a shadow fell over her face. She turned to face the source of the darkness and saw Crimson smiling sadly at her. She climbed up onto the roof of the car to join Flame.

"Hey," she whispered softly, the glow from the now almost fully risen sun lighting up her pale face. Flame nodded, only half returning the smile.

"You shouldn't be afraid to cry," Crimson continued, "I'd say it's your turn. I've already cried way too much recently,"

Flame sighed heavily.

"I just don't understand it," she said, "I've never cried over someone before, and when I choose to it's over someone I've barely known for ten minutes?"

Crimson chuckled softly.

"I think it's because you're amazed at how brave she was, looking death in the face like that," she smiled sadly, "How she was so willing to let herself go, just for us,"

"I'm more stunned," Flame answered, "It's just, if I was in her position … I would have never … _could _have never done that. I'm just not that strong, that brave. I'm not afraid to die, don't get me wrong, but like that? Where you feel everything until the very end and walking into it _knowing _there's no way you're coming out alive? I'd be terrified. I wouldn't be able to do it,"

"I think she was grateful,"

"Grateful?" Flame asked, "What do you mean?"

"Well, think about it," began Crimson, "She'd somehow managed to come out of the darkness. She remembered who she was, who she used to be. And then she realized what had become. A Drac. She could have potentially killed her friends, people she knew and loved. If I were her, I don't think I would have been able to live with myself. And I don't think she could either. So, she chose her way out,"

"But why that way?" Flame said incredulously, "Why not just ask one of us to shoot her? Make it quick and clean?"

"Do you really think you could do that, Flame?" and truthfully, Flame knew she could never kill another killjoy, no matter how much they begged.

"And besides," continued Crimson, "I think she wanted to feel the pain she'd made others feel. She wanted to suffer for her sins,"

Flame could kind of understand that. If she'd been captured and turned, then somehow woken up from that dream, she would have felt the same way. But again, she felt she'd much rather die by staring down a loaded gun then at the hand of something like the S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W.

Suddenly, Flame remembered something Crimson had been screaming as they had fled from the S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W unit, and it made her wonder.

"Who's Alteration?" Flame blurted out before she'd fully thought through her words. She blushed, something she rarely did.

Crimson smiled sadly.

"Alteration Lover was my sister," Crimson said sorrowfully, "Before I met you we were running together. She was killed by the S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W when she was fourteen. Cellophane kind of reminded me of her,"

"Oh, Crim," Flame whispered, pulling the girl close to her, hugging her tightly, "I'm so sorry,"

"You shouldn't be," Crimson looked up into Flame's face, "I should have told you sooner,"

"No, I understand," Flame patted her black and red hair,

Crimson backed away, staring into Flame's face.

"You're my sister now," she said, smiling. Flame grinned and pulled her into a big hug.

"I love you, Crim," she whispered in her best friend's ear,

"I love you too, Flame," Flame could feel the corners of Crimson's mouth pulling up into a grin.

"Now come on," Crimson continued to smile as she pulled away, stray strands of Flame's purple hair mixing with her own, "Let's go inside,"

The two girls got up off the roof of the car and hopped onto the desert sand, walking towards the safe-house. A tear of contentment fell down Flame's face, but this time, she didn't brush it away.

***Authors Note: I know this one is kind of a filler as well, and I totally apologize, but I really wanted to get into Flame's mind, figuring out what really goes on in there, you know? So, I promise that there will be progress really soon ;) also, I would like to say a big thanks to all the people who are rating :) even just knowing that a couple of people out there like reading my story is super amazing :D so thank you guys to much :) ~Alteration xXx***


	8. To Every Enemy

***Authors Note: OH. MY. GOD. I just want to say thank you SO much to all the people who are reviewing! I went to bed last night with five reviews and woke up this morning with **_**seventeen**_**? That's actually insane! It may not seem like a lot, compared to some other people, but for my, it means the world. So, to thank you, I plugged in my iPod and typed up the next part :) You guys are what I live for every day, and I hope you all are enjoying reading my story as much as I enjoy writing it :) XOXO ~Alteration Lover***

Kobra and the others sat around the wooden table inside the safe-house, gathered around a large, wrinkled map.

"Okay," he said, "We need to go to at least two Drac hideouts today to make up for the lost time,"

The group nodded. Flame was seated beside Crimson. Somehow, their short conversation outside had brought them even closer together than they had been before. There were no secrets between them now. They were totally honest with each other, like true sisters.

"So," Kobra pointed at a small, faded red dot on the map, "This is the closest Drac camp, so I say we head out immediately, we don't know how much time we have left,"

"I disagree," the group turned to look at Disaster,

"What do you mean?" Kobra asked, his eyes narrowed, "Korse is out there with Poison right now, and we have _no_ _idea_ where they are, or what their plan is!"

"Think about is, Kobra!" Disaster said loudly, "We haven't slept in at _least _twenty-four hours! I don't know about anyone else, but I'm exhausted!"

"Is that all you can take, Disaster?" Crimson said mockingly, "Twenty-four hours without your beauty sleep? Did you not know what you signed up for?"

"I know perfectly well what I signed up for, _Crimson Pixie_," Disaster spat out the name, "And it was not running around like a headless chicken trying to find a _dead _Killjoy with no direction whatsoever!"

"Well, if you don't like it, maybe you should leave!" Ghoul snarled angrily,

"Guys, stop figh-" Kobra began but was cut off as Disaster stood up, knocking the chair over as she went.

"Maybe I _will _leave!" she growled, sweeping her midnight hair behind her, her black eyes glinting with fury.

"Disaster!" Kobra cried, but she was already walking away.

Beautiful Disaster stopped in the doorway, turning to look at the Killjoys, giving each one of them a venomous stare.

"Good luck finding your friend," she spat, malice ringing in her voice, "But if you ask me, it's never going to happen. You're all too weak.

"Oh, and Crimson?" she turned to face the black and red haired Killjoy, "I hope you'll see your dear sister soon,"

And with that, she swept out of the safe-house. Ghoul stood up quickly, his fists clenched, but Crimson rested a hand on his arm, stopping him.

She couldn't move. How had Disaster known? The only people on the planet that knew were Ghoul, Flame and her. She just sat there, immobilized, unable to move, speak or even think properly. Her thoughts seemed to rain through her mind, causing a flash flood of emotions and feelings, all of them getting jumbled up in the commotion that was her brain.

The room was silent, no one daring to breath. Suddenly Crimson stood up, her chair legs scraping along the broken tiled floor. She strode off out the front door into the hot desert sunlight. Ghoul was quick to follow, his hands still clasped into fists. Kobra put his head in his hands, his blonde hair falling through his long fingers. Jet rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, a bit confused at the past minutes happenings. Flame stood up and began to pace the room, her boots clicking on the tiled floor of the dining room. She ran her slender fingers through her purple hair, lost deep in thought. She knew something wasn't right about Disaster's outburst. It was almost as if she was _planning _to leave. But if she didn't want to be with them, why did she ask to come along in the first place?

* * *

The robot walked through the desert sand, searching for stray Killjoys. Although the sun beat down, it did not feel the heat penetrate its porcelain skin. Inside, its human brain whizzed and hurled, helped along by many wires and circuits.

Suddenly, there was a vibration coming from its wrist. Electricity shot through the wires as the robot brought its hand up to its mouth.

"Sir?" it spoke, its deep, robotic voice reverberating through its skull.

"Please report to Draculoid Occupation Unit 2756 for a tune-up" the voice from the transmitter said in a monotone voice,

There was a crack and a buzz, followed by a small pop and the robots voice turned human, female to be exact.

"No!" the female voice said, "I'm done! I will not go anywhere!"

More pops and hums and the female voice returned to the droning robotic monotone.

"Yes, sir," it replied, but almost immediately after it finished speaking, the female voice broke through,

"No!" it yelled, fighting the cracks that were trying to take over, "I will not!"

The line on the other end went dead, and the robot was having an internal battle with itself, each side trying to take over. There were many small bangs followed by fizzes and pops.

Suddenly, a hovercraft appeared out of nowhere. It extracted a large metal claw from the bottom of the craft, which slowly fell down, embracing the robot in its strong grasp. The human mind fought to gain control of the robotic body, but failed miserably. The robot went limp, allowing the claw to drag it up into the hovercraft.

The interior of the craft was pristine white, like a hospital ward. The robot was extracted from the claw and clamped tightly to a hospital bed. A Draculoid wheeled it through narrow white passageways into a surgical ward lighted with violent fluorescent lights.

The Draculoid that had pushed the robot through the hovercraft left the room, but was soon replaced by another, this one pulling white surgical gloves over its pale hands. The female inside the robot took over, staring in fear at the Draculoid as it went over to a small metal table and picked up a needle filled to the brim with black liquid.

The Drac walked up to the female until it hovered right above her. The female's eyes had turned blue once again.

The Draculoid placed both hands on the sides of the female's porcelain face. There was a soft hiss and the china gave away revealing assorted wires, two terrified blue eyes and a brain. The Draculoid took the needle filled with black fluid and placed it directly over the female's exposed brain. The female looked up in horror as the needle was brought down, breaking its way through the delicate membrane. As the Draculoid pressed down on the plunger, the black solution flowed through the brain. It flooded through the female's irises, turning the blue back to black. The female inside the robot struggled, but was pushed aside by the stronger robot until it could do nothing but merely watch.

The black irises looked up into the Draculoid's masked face.

"Commands?" the robot asked, it's monotone voice once more dominating,

"Continue Plan X," the Draculoid said as it put the china face back on the robot. Its porcelain lips curled up into an evil smile.

"As you wish,"


	9. I Don't Believe In Luck

Even though Disaster rarely spoke, it seemed so much quieter without her. An awkward silence hung over the Killjoys as they prepared to set out for the next couple of Drac camps. Ray guns were loaded and provisions were packed. They were ready.

The drive to the camp was not at all like the one from the previous day. No songs were sung, in fact, barely any words were spoken at all. Everyone had become very ill at ease since Disaster had marched out.

Flame began to share Crimson's questioning of Disaster. She had never met a Killjoy who just gave up on their friends for their own comfort. They had all gotten used to being sore and tired after years of running and sleeping wherever they could, eating nothing but stolen cans of beans from Draculoid camps. So why was Disaster not used to it? Also, Flame remembered the first night they had met Beautiful Disaster. She had built a massive bonfire when she was only twenty or so miles away from a Drac camp. Either she was extremely stupid, or she hadn't been running for nearly as long as she'd declared.

The only upside of Disaster's absence was that there was so much more room in the spider car. Ghoul, Crimson and Kobra no longer had to squish together in the back seat.

Crimson sat with her arm encircling Ghouls, her fingers tracing the tattoos on his hands. Somehow, that always soothed her. When Ghoul had followed her after she ran out earlier, they had just sat on the ground, her outlining his tattoos. She didn't know why, but they mesmerized her.

Small rocks smashed against the metal exterior of the car as it barreled down the dusty path, small clanks filling the silence. Although they were going exceptionally fast, it was as if time had slowed down. There was nothing but endless desert in front and behind them. Although the Drac hideout was getting closer and closer, they were not optimistic. Deep inside, they knew they'd lost too much time. Korse would be too far ahead. Flame spoke the words they were all thinking.

"He's not going to be at these Drac houses," she turned to face everyone from her seat in the front of the car, "He's too far ahead,"

Kobra merely nodded, still not speaking. He was still shocked at how Disaster had totally abandoned them and given up on the search for Party Poison.

"I agree with Flame," he said eventually, "I say we skip the next couple of Drac hide-outs, maybe going to number eighteen?"

The group nodded in agreement, and so, the next Drac hideout came and went, along with many others.

After hours of silent driving, they were finally nearing Drac hideout number eighteen.

They parked the car and stepped out. The sun beat down on their necks, but they weren't complaining.

Walking forward through the sand, Flame knew something was wrong almost immediately. The usually still air now had a slight breeze to it. She glanced around, but saw nothing.

Then it appeared. Out of nowhere, a white hovercraft became visible against the cloudless blue sky.

"Look out!" Flame screeched as a torpedo of light shot down, slashing the ground mere centimeters from where she'd been standing. The others thrust their hands over their heads instinctively.

Light beam after light beam shot down, but somehow, they all managed to dodge the rays as the flung themselves towards the car, thrusting open the doors. Crimson managed to get in behind the wheel. Unfortunately, she'd never driven a car in her life, but she knew the basics. As soon as she saw that everyone was in the spider car, she twisted the key in the ignition, stomping on the gas. The car thrust forward, causing Flame, who was seated in the back, to smack her head on the back o the passenger's seat.

They wound their way across the desert sand, taking down small bushes and sweeping up dust in their wake. But still, the hovercraft continued to follow, shooting rays all the way.

Then, over the roar of the engine and the clanking of rocks hitting against the metal of the car, Jet heard another sound, like metal scraping against metal, and gears working. He stuck his curly haired head out of the glassless window and stared up at the hovercraft. A door was opening up on the bottom, revealing a large metal claw, big enough to pick up a car. _Their car_.

"THE CLAW!" he screamed, but it was too late. The metal hand attached itself to the back of the car, causing it to swerve out of control.

Suddenly, they noticed a massive boulder that was standing directly into their path. Crimson couldn't direct the car away from it, so she slammed on the brakes. The car skidded, diving headlong into the boulder. As they made impact, Crimson's head smashed into the steering wheel, and everything went black.


	10. When The Lights Go Out

**Bah ! Sorry it took so long to upload this part D: I have had it finished for about a day actually, but for some reason, they would not let me submit it ! . Also, I've been working on another fanfiction, it's also MCR, but it's a horror (my first :P) so, yeah, if you want, you can check it out :P I've only got the first two parts up, but there WILL be more ;) Thanks for the support and for being so patient ! :)**

**~Alteration Lover a.k.a Aulora~**

Crimson could see the flames dancing about behind her eyelids. Opening her eyes ever so slightly, the first thing she saw was the desert sand beneath her face. How had she gotten there? The last thing she remembered was being in the car, and then the boulder …

She suddenly bolted into a sitting position, instantly wishing she hadn't. Her head swam, a sudden wave of nausea passing over her, causing her to keel over and vomit. Wiping away the vile substance from her mouth, she gingerly touched her forehead. When she brought her hand away, she realized that it was slick with blood.

Crimson fell back onto the earth, her eyes growing hazy. She stared at the waving flames as they curled around the burning wreckage of the car. Then, she saw a silhouette shadowed against the copper flames, its hair billowing in the wind. It came up to her until it was kneeling beside her bleeding head.

"Come on, we have to go," the figure said urgently. The voice was oddly familiar. And then it came to her.

"Disaster?" she mumbled, absolutely stunned. What was Disaster doing _here_? And why was she saving them?

"Come on, I'll explain everything later," Disaster helped Crimson to her feet.

"Take this," Crimson swallowed the red pill with difficulty, but as soon as she did, she felt extremely better. Her vision cleared, and she realized for the first time that night had fallen. Her headache had also died down considerably.

Crimson followed Disaster, and soon they came upon the rest of the group. They were all pretty battered up; sporting bruises and cuts of all sorts.

"Crimson!" Flame cried as soon as they came into sight. She flung herself at her, encircling her arms around her neck, getting her purple hair in Crimson's eyes. "Are you alright? Oh my god, your head!"

"It's not _that_ bad, is it?" Crimson bit her lip, bringing her hand up to her head again. Flame just stared at it worriedly.

Ghoul suddenly sprung forth, cradling her in his arms. After a moment, he stepped back, looking her in the eye.

"We need to work on your driving skills," he smiled, and she couldn't help but smile too.

"Guys, we have to get out of the open," Disaster broke the silence, "There's a safe-house not far from here, maybe two miles?"

The group followed in her pursuit, and as they walked, Disaster explained how she had found them. After running out of the safe-house that morning, she had continued through the desert. After hours of running, she had heard a massive explosion in the distance. She had followed the noise, and after about an hour, had stumbled upon the wreckage of the spider car.

"Wait, where did the hovercraft go to?" Jet suddenly inquired. Disaster shrugged.

"When I arrived, there wasn't a thing in sight,"

Flame and Crimson exchanged glances. They were both thinking the same thing. Why would the hovercraft go to so much trouble to capture them, and then just _vanish_? And then there was the matter of Disaster. How had she traveled so far on foot in such a short amount of time? It didn't seem humanly possible.

They arrived at the safe-house in just over an hour. As soon as they walked in the door, Ghoul disappeared into the bedroom, mumbling something about a headache. The others took no notice. They were all pretty beat up from the crash. Jet still couldn't believe that the spider car was gone. How were they supposed to get Party Poison; wherever he was; now?

After inhaling yet another can of baked beans, Crimson headed off to the bedroom, which led to the bathroom, for a showed. She really needed to wash all the blood and grime away, along with some thoughts.

However, as she stepped in the room, she realized something was different. The room was lit be … candlelight? And there was Ghoul, standing at the end of the bed, his black hair molding around his face. He looked exceptional in the flickering light of the flames.

Crimson smiled, uncertain.

"What's all this?" she walked up to him, curiosity in her eyes. Ghoul took her hand, bringing her closer, kissing her cracked lips softly.

"I was thinking about it after the crash," he whispered. Crimson hung her head. It had been all her fault, she knew. Ghoul raised her head with his hand.

"And," he continued in a soft voice, "I realized that any day could very well be our last,"

"Don't say that-" she began, but Ghoul cut her off by placing a finger to her lips.

"It's true," and deep down, Crimson knew it was. This could be her last night on this earth.

"So I wanted you to know that I love you," he spoke so softly, his voice a mere murmur, "Forever and always,"

She tried to speak, to tell him how much he meant to her as well, but her voice was cut off by a gasp as Ghoul's cold fingers met the bare skin of her shoulders, slowly easing off her leather jacket.

She stepped back, falling onto the bed. It creaked under her weight and Ghouls. She propped herself up on her elbow, staring into his eyes. His hair hung over her face.

She tried not to show it, but she was terrified. She could deal with Drac's and S/CA/R/E/C/R/O/W/S and hell, she could even handle Korse himself, but this? Giving herself up emotionally and physically? True, she loved Ghoul with every ounce of her being, and this, like he'd said, could be the last night she ever saw, but-

All doubts melted out of her mind as he kissed her. She wrapped her unused arm around his neck, holding him closer. Her tongue traced his lower lip, and he smiled into the kiss.

Crimson fingered at his shirt, and he took it off, revealing the many patterns and images that were imprinted on his pale skin. She kissed down his jaw line and he murmured her name over and over again.

The candles blew out as they continued, leaving them alone and entwined. Safe and one.


	11. Check, Check

**It's shameful how short this chapter is *hangs head* but well, I had to stop it short, 'cause well ... you'll see when you read it xD So if you don't like short chapters or whatever, deal with it ! xD**

**~Alteration Lover~**

So the days turned into weeks. It was much harder traveling by foot than by car. The group's feet ached from endless walking, day after day, night after night. Four weeks had passed since Flame and Crimson had first rescued the killjoys, and still, there was no sign of Korse or Party Poison. They had no idea how they were going to get back to Battery City once they'd finished checking all the Drac hideouts, but they knew they would never give up. Kobra Kid was especially persistent. Poison was his brother and his best friend, and Kobra would not give up on him, because he knew, if it were him, Poison would do the same.

The group was gathered at a safe-house, not far from the twentieth Drac house on the list. Three and a half weeks of walking, only stopping every other night or so to rest, had really tired them out. The killjoys were exhausted and hungry, so when they ate their beans that night, there were no complaints. It was only a can of cold, uncooked beans, but it might as well be a roast beef for all they could tell.

Crimson ate her food quickly, enjoying the feeling of a relatively full stomach, but almost immediately after finishing the last spoonful, she knew something was wrong. She bolted from the table, leaving everyone wondering what was wrong. She ran into the bathroom; and just in time too, because the second she knelt down, she heaved the contents of her stomach into the grimy toilet basin. Flame arrived a moment later, rubbing Crimsons back as she continued to vomit.

After a moment or two, Crimson sat back, breathing heavily. Oddly, she felt fine, like nothing had happened at all.

"Are you alright?" Flame asked, still patting her back. Crimson nodded.

"Must have just been some off beans," she said softly, more reassuring herself than Flame.

Flame helped Crimson up and the two of them returned to the dining room. The group was staring apprehensively at them, but Crimson waved them off saying it was nothing, she was perfectly fine.

After everyone had finished eating, the rest of the group _tried_ to convince Crimson that she should rest, but she shrugged them off saying they'd already lost enough time and they should continue walking.

So, uneasy, the group continued along, walking through the quiet evening. They had all gotten used to the silence since the fires, but sometimes they missed the hustle and bustle of the city life. At least when it was noisy, they knew they were never alone.

A little after three hours since they'd set out, Crimson got that feeling yet again, and dashed behind a bush, once again vomiting. Flame was there in a second.

"I think we should see what's wrong with you," she said softly after Crimson wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. "You might have food poisoning,"

Crimson nodded. Flame called Kobra, who had the bag with all the first aid items, over, and she took out the I.P, or the Illness Processor. With one drop of your blood, it could tell what, if any, illness or problem you had. It was an extremely useful tool, especially to the killjoys, who wouldn't be able to just go to a doctor to see what was wrong with them.

Flame pricked Crimson with the needle, extracting a small amount of blood from a vein on her arm. It would take only a moment for the I.P to process the results. Crimson stared anxiously at the small screen. Her mind was racing with possible problems. Could it be food poisoning? Or perhaps something more severe?

The machine beeped three times, and Crimson looked down at the green screen. Her stomach dropped as she saw the result.

_PREGNANT_


	12. Pull This Pin

**Sorry sorry sorry sorry SORRY! D: I can't say how sorry I am that it took so long to update this ... But was being a meanie and not letting me post stuff ... but I am here now :P So, I give you part twelve :D**

_PREGNANT. PREGNANT. PREGNANT. _The word revolved around Crimson's brain. No. There was no way this was happening! It couldn't be!

Flame continued to stare at the small massage on the screen in horror. _How_? _What_? _Who_? Then something clicked in her mind.

Flame brought her eyes up to meet Crimson's and jerked her head backwards, pointing at the group, or rather, one person in the group. Crimson nodded her head once.

Flame stood up, scraping her hair back from her face. She turned to face the rest of the group. They were all looking at her anxiously.

Walking forward, she stopped in front of Ghoul. Crimson watched as Flame leaned in close, whispering in his ear. She watched as his eyes got wide in shock and then disbelief. He shook his head, holding the back of his neck. Flame only gave him a sad smile.

Ghoul turned away, running his fingers through his long black hair. No, no, no, no, no, NO! This was NOT happening! He couldn't be a … He couldn't even think the word. The word that was changing his life forever.

Crimson couldn't look at Ghoul anymore, with his shoulders hunched and his hair hanging over his beautiful face. Words couldn't describe how she was feeling. She looked down at her stomach. There was no sign yet, but she knew there would be soon. There was no denying it. She was carrying a child, a child who had no real hope of surviving in this world. It might as well be murder what she was doing, bringing a child onto this planet. She hated herself for it.

Flame returned to Crimson's side. She herself couldn't believe what was happening. The fact that Crimson was _pregnant_ was huge. Flame knew that Crimson wasn't ready for this. She also recognized that the _child_ wasn't ready for a dying, evil earth like this. This was not the preferred place to raise a baby, at least not now. If things were different, then maybe, but -

Her thoughts were cut off by Jet's voice.

"What's happening?" he said, "Can someone please explain what is going on?"

Flame turned to Crimson.

"Do you want me to …?" but Crimson shook her head.

Crim walked over to Kobra, Jet and Disaster. Ghoul was standing a couple of meters away, his head in his hands. She looked at each one of their faces then slowly brought her hand up to her abdomen.

Kobra was the first to clue in. His eyes widened in astonishment. He turned around, cursing under his breath.

"Fuck," he turned back around to face Crimson, but then almost immediately twisted to view Ghoul.

"What were you thinking?" his voice was angry, his eyes glaring at his friend.

Ghoul looked at Kobra, shocked.

"What?" Ghoul's eyes narrowed, and the others could tell he was growing angry,

"How could you jeopardize the mission like this? This isn't about you, this is about Poison!"

"Excuse me?" Ghoul spat out the words, "If you, for one second think that I don't care about getting Poison back, you're wrong! He's my best friend, Kobra! It's not just _you_ that misses him, you know!"

Kobra Kid looked slightly taken aback, but the anger in his eyes soon returned.

"So that's it then? You think you care more about Poison then me? His own _brother_?"

"I never said anything like that!" Ghoul yelled loudly, "I know how much you care about Poison! But things have gotten bigger now! This isn't just about finding Poison anymore! This is about saving this planet, for the future!"

"Why should we? We have nothing more to live for! Everyone we, everyone _I_ ever cared about, is _dead_!" tears began to form in the killjoy's eyes as he shouted.

Ghoul softened immediately. Besides the two men, the only other person who seemed to have a clue what was going on was Jet Star.

"Kobra," Ghoul said softly, walking over to the killjoy whose tears were now sliding silently down his face, "I'm so sorry …"

Kobra sniffed loudly, wiping the droplets off his grimy face.

"I'm sorry, Kobra, but she's been gone for seven years," Ghoul continued, his voice soft and comforting, "You have to move on,"

Kobra nodded jerkily. Flame and Crimson exchanged questioning looks.

Sensing their confusion, Kobra turned to look at the two women.

"Back before 2012, before BL/ind, before killjoys and all of the names, I was married," he began, "She was exceptionally beautiful and the love of my life. She was pregnant with our first child when 2012 and the fires came. I was the only one to survive. My wife, my beautiful wife, and my unborn child were taken from me,"

The group was unspoken. Flame was staring at Kobra, her mouth hanging open slightly. It was hard to imagine Kobra as a young father, ready to face the challenges of having a child, but also the adventures as well. She tried to imagine his hard face grinning down at a small squirming baby in his arms, a beautiful woman standing at his side. It was almost impossible to envision.

"Kobra," Flame said sympathetically, "I'm so sorry …"

But Kobra shook her off with a wave of his hand.

"You're right, I should get over it," he smeared the tears off his face with his sleeve, "Let's just go,"

And with that, he began to walk away from the group towards their next destination. After a moment or two, the rest of the killjoys followed suit, none of them speaking a word.

* * *

Later that night, the killjoys were sleeping around a small campfire. All was silent except for the crackle and hiss of the flames. The robot stood a couple of meters away, staring at the small group. Suddenly, the minute receiver on its wrist vibrated. The robot brought its arm up to its mouth and spoke softly into the mouthpiece.

"Orders?"

"We have waited too long," the voice on the other end said, "Commence Operation 74B,"

The line went dead and the robot removed its wrist from its face. Strutting towards the killjoys, it looked down at each of their sleeping faces. Crimson was asleep in Ghoul's arms. The robot felt sick just looking at them, knowing that _his_ child was harvesting inside her.

Flame was much more tranquil in slumber, her hard face relaxed and soft. Kobra, on the other hand, looked even more stressed. The robot could tell he was having a nightmare, possibly about his long dead wife.

Jet looked much the same as he did when he was awake. Calm, collected. The robot _almost_ felt sorry for them. Almost.

Reaching into its pocket, the robot extracted a small, metal canister. Placing it in the center of the group of people, it pulled out a small pin from the cylinder. The canister began to beep softly. The robot backed away quickly as the bleeps began to get more rapid. It was about sixty meters away when the beeping stopped altogether.

The robot stood. Nothing was happening. Perhaps the canister was a failure? It began to walk forward towards -

**BOOM.**

**Ehe, me and my sneaky endings ;) but fear not ! For I'm not finished with this story just yet xD also, you can probably guess who Kobra's 'mysterious wife' was ;) I feel sorry for killing her, but oh well ;P**


	13. Heat Burns My Skin

Blinding brightness. That was all Crimson could see from behind her eyelashes that were heavy with sleep. Through the thin membrane of her eyelids, she could see she was in a white room, with a fluorescent light shining down on her face. Even with her eyes closed, the light still hurt her eyes. How had she got here? Last thing she remembered was falling asleep the night before by the campfire. So why was she here?

Suddenly, she felt movement. Not around her, but _inside_.

Crimson ripped her eyelashes open. Her eyes flooded with the severe light, and immediately dots of colour flooded her vision. She could see a dark, rounded shape around the area of her abdomen.

She blinked rapidly, trying to clear her vision. After a moment, the dots that clouded her eyes slowly departed. That was when she realized that the dark outline was…

Her.

Her enlarged abdomen protruded out from her body. What was happening? There was no way that had occurred overnight!

Suddenly, a door she had not noticed opened, revealing a figure. A vampire mask covered its face. _Draculoid_.

"What the hell's going on?" Crimson demanded, trying to move, only realizing that she was firmly strapped to the bed.

The Drac slowly walked forward. Its white uniform was slightly too big, so Crimson could not see its form, nor could she tell whether it was male or female.

The Drac was now hovering over Crimson. She tried to remain calm, but she felt her hands grow clammy. Not only did she have no idea where she was, or what was going on, but this Drac was different than all the others. It was more casual, it didn't walk as stiff. Something was not right at all.

"What's going on?" Crimson commanded again, staring nervously up into the Draculoid's masked face. Although she couldn't see its facial emotions, she felt almost certain it was smirking down at her. She didn't even know Drac's had the mental capacity to smirk, what with their brains being barely anything but mush.

Suddenly, the mask shifted, and Crimson guessed that the Drac had opened its mouth.

"You've been on this hovercraft for eight and a half months," it said in a robotic voice that she was certain she had never heard before, yet seemed oddly familiar.

Eight and a half _months_? That explained her stomach. The baby would be due any day! Crimson breath turned rapid. She'd missed her entire pregnancy! And it had passed in the blink of an eye!

"You were killed in a blast and captured by this hovercraft. We have spent the last eight and a half months repairing your body, for it was badly damaged and required much surgery,"

Crimson's eyes absentmindedly traveled down to the large bump.

"The baby is still safe," the robotic voice that came from under the mask spoke again, "We were able to bring you back to life before it perished,"

Crimson breathed a sigh of relief. Then, another thought popped up in her brain.

"The others! Ghoul! Flame!" she found her voice close to breaking point.

"Are all alive. They were brought back as well, although …"

"Although?" she almost screeched, her mind whirling, searching for the 'although', whatever it was. The Drac's sneer seemed to widen under the mask.

"I think you would better understand if you saw it," the Draculoid pressed an unseen button, and the bed on which Crimson was laying began to rise from about the halfway point, until she was sitting up straight, her arms and legs still strapped to the thin, white mattress.

From behind her, the Draculoid began to push the bed out of the open door out into a hallway that was equally pristine white and harshly lit.

As the Drac pushed her along the hallways, they passed many other masked people along the way, and now Crimson was certain the one pushing her was different from the rest of the mindless zombies.

After a few moments of walking in silence, the Drac stopped in front of a ward. Her bed was turned around so it was facing the opposite direction. Thoughts flew through her mind. Who was behind the door? And what was wrong with them? Her heart thumped against her chest like a hummingbird inside a cage.

There was a faint click as the door opened, and she was wheeled backwards through the door into a room that was identical to the one she had woken up in.

The Drac slowly turned her around, as though to taunt her, make her wonder who was on the bed, and what was wrong with them. Crimson held her breath as the bed slowly came to face the hospital bed that lay in the center of the room.

Synthetic Flame lay on the white bed, still and unmoving, although there was the steady rise and fall of her chest. She was naked, but Crimson was not embarrassed. She was too worried to be.

Staring at Flame in profile, she could see nothing wrong, but she felt her bed being slowly pushed around, turning, moving to the other side of the hospital bed where Flame lay.

Crimson let out a strangled cry as she viewed the other side of Flame's body. It was covered in scars from head to toe. They were deep and twisted, like the trunk of a tree.

And then Crimson saw her face. There was a deep scar that ran jagged from her purple hairline straight through her closed eye down to her chin. A sliced through her face that Crimson knew would stay with her until the day she died.

She couldn't speak. It was as though someone had cut off her vocal chords. All she could do was stare in despair at her best friend, unconscious and alone on the bed.

Suddenly, she seemed to find her voice. Crimson twisted her neck so that she was could see the Drac.

"Who are you," she whispered, her voice heavy with desolation, "And what is wrong with you? Why didn't you just leave us to die?"

"Oh, Korse has use for you yet," the robotic voice said mockingly, "And as for who I am…"

The Drac brought its hand up to the mask that enclosed its face. Grasping the top, it slowly removed the synthetic face. The first thing Crimson saw were the jet black eyes, endless pits of evil, tunnels to hell itself.

Beautiful Disaster.


	14. I Got The Answer

The blood drained from Crimson's face as she stared into the wicked eyes of a person that she had thought to be her companion, even her friend. But Disaster was definitely not the same person she had been, or had _pretended_ to be before. Her black hair wove around her head and seemed to resemble serpents, poised for attack.

Crimson opened her mouth to speak, but all that came out was a weak strangled cry, leaving her mouth open, like the entrance to a cave.

Disaster, (Crimson still thought of her as that, even though she was obviously changed) smirked down into Crimson's face, and it was the first time that Crimson noticed how perfect her skin looked. No imperfections, no blemishes. Disaster seemed to notice.

Reaching her pale hands up to her face for the second time, although this occasion she placed them on the sides of her perfect face. Crimson could hear a small whisper, like the sound of steam escaping from an open kettle, and then the face gave away. Her eyes opened in repulsion as two eyeballs, their irises totally black, were revealed along with a pulsating brain that had many multicoloured wires protruding from its purple membrane.

Crimson wanted to gag, to throw up in revulsion, but she found herself immobile under the stare of the black eyes.

Finally Disaster placed the porcelain mask back on, veiling the horrors that lay below.

"I was a killjoy once, like you," the robot spoke, although its voice had changed back to Disaster's, "But they caught me, and changed me into this. Something _beautiful_. A beautiful disaster,"

"So you've been spying on us the whole time?" Crimson found her voice, "_Why_? What's so special about _us_?"

The robot didn't speak, but merely walked over to Flame's side, placing its china hand on her purple hair. If Crimson could move, she would have flung herself at the robot. How dare it touch her best friend?

"There is much you don't know about your friend," the robot spoke softly, staring down at Flame's scarred face, "Very much indeed,"

Crimson had no idea what the android was talking about. Flame was a remarkable person, no doubt, but for there to be something extraordinary about her that none of the others had noticed? It seemed very far fetched.

"What's so special about her?" Crimson's voice was quivering, "What's so special about her that you had to go to such great lengths just to bring her back to life?"

"In 2011, there was a foretelling that a woman with a name of fire would become the most powerful being on earth, for better or worse. As soon as Korse heard of the prophecy, he began searching for this woman, hoping to make her an ally, so they could rule the world together. But the fires got in the way. Having survived the inferno, Korse conceived BL/ind, a company to rule all companies, in the hope that this woman would be found. Little did they know that at the time, it was a girl of seventeen. Korse heard the young girls parents refer to her as 'Flame'. Korse had a feeling that this was the woman, the one to change everything.

"But something went wrong. The girl witnessed her parents change into Draculoid Units. She exterminated five Draculoid's with a stolen ray gun and fled Battery City. How she survived for the first years, no one is certain. But then she met up with _you_.

"We had had tabs on you ever since we executed your sister. So when we saw someone running with you issued under the name Flame, we immediately perked up. Could this really be the girl who had escaped so long ago?

"But we lost you again. A mix up on a Draculoid's part. He was taken care of immediately.

"Then we exterminated the Fabulous Killjoys, the most wanted group of beings on the planet, second only to Flame. Korse took Party Poison, hoping to instead make _him_ his partner to rule the world.

"We had left Battery City after the battle, knowing that too many Killjoys would show up and out number us. Korse left by car, taking along a little souvenir."

"Party Poison," Crimson whispered, her voice laced with malice.

"Exactly," the robot continued, "Korse thought that if he couldn't have Flame, he could at least have the second most wanted person.

"But then who showed up at the scene? None other than two girls that went by the names Synthetic Flame and Crimson Pixie. Korse was about to send a whole league of Draculoid's after you two, but then things took a change for the worse.

"One of the Fabulous Killjoys had not been exterminated. The Kobra Kid remained alive, and had on him a secret liquid remedy that could bring anyone back from the dead. You brought the Fabulous Killjoys back to life and set off in search of Party Poison.

"So Korse sent me. Wasn't it convenient that I would have set up a bonfire far too large and far too near a Draculoid Occupation Unit without being seen? It was a trap, to lure you to me. And you caught the bait just perfectly. Flame was once again in our grasp.

"So don't you understand?" the robot no longer looked down at Flame, but her black eyes had traveled upwards, fastening themselves on Crimson's face, "It was never about the Fabulous Killjoys. Only Flame. It was always about Flame."

And Crimson did understand. Something was going to happen when the woman who lay in front of her woke from her slumber, and whatever it was, it was going to change the world forever. Synthetic Flame could save them all from everything.

Or annihilate the world as they knew it.


	15. When A Blackbird Flies

_The dark angel hovered forward. Wisps of shadows hung around its ankles. Girl stood before the Fallen, beside a bed of black granite and bone. Fire twisted through the air between the Fallen and Girl, whispering secrets of misuse and death. Girl shivered slightly as the voices spoke in her brain. She could not make out the words, only the voices, rough and tormented, lost in an endless void of misery._

_Girl wore nothing but a long, black gown of shadows. Her feet were bare._

"_Who am I?" she spoke in a voice that was impossible to describe. It was as though dreams were flying from her mouth._

"_You are the Journeyer," the Fallen whispered, it's voice dark and haunting, but not evil. No, the Fallen was not evil, merely tortured. Girl knew this._

"_Why am I here?" Girl asked the question softly, staring around at the dark abyss where she and the Fallen stood. It was dark, but not frightening. More sad. _

"_Your time has come, Journeyer. It is time for everything to come true. It is your time,"_

"_My time for what?" Girl was not afraid of the Fallen. He was an angel, but of darkness._

"_You stand on the centerfold of humanity," when the Fallen opened his mouth, anguished shadows escaped, forming silhouettes of lost souls mislaid on the trip to heaven, forced to spend eternity in purgatory, bodiless, only essences of what could have been._

"_Take one more step and you will fall," the dark angel continued, "It is up to you what side you will fall onto,"_

"_How will I know which side is the right one?" the lost souls joined the many others that made up Girl's dress. They crept down her arms, engulfing the flesh in gloom. The more the Fallen spoke, the more the shadows surrounded._

"_You will know when the time is right," more shadows, these ones creeping along Girl's shoulder blades._

"_Help me, dark lord!" Girl began to plead. The shadow's voices plagued her brain, telling her stories of endless torment. _

_The Fallen shook his head, and shadow people escaped from his ears/. They crawled across her chest, up her neck. The only flesh that remained was Girl's face._

"_Your time is now, Journeyer. Take the step," the final shadow people escaped from the Fallen, and he was no more. The silhouettes of the broken and the damned swallowed up Girl's face. The whispers of the ruined flooded along the endless abyss. Girl was swept up along with them. She was taking the step._

Flame opened her eyes.

***A/N : Shortest chapter I have ever written *facepalm* BUT , I actually really like how it turned out . I like the mystery of it , how things are in a coma , things like that ;) but , there will be longer chapters , no more of these itty - bitty short ones xD***

**~Alteration~**


	16. Aint No Preacher Gonna Save Me Now

***facepalm* Okay, I lied . This one is short xD but , oh well xD Deal with it ;)**

The room was white, far too white. Flame sat up, and a thin blanket fell away revealing her naked body. That was when she saw the scars.

They marred her body, making her entire left side seem disfigured. She blinked, wishing, _hoping_, that it was just a figment of her imagination, her eyes playing tricks on her. But as she blinked, she felt an odd stiffness in her face. Bringing her hand up to her cheek, she felt an indent on the smooth skin.

Flame quickly looked around her at the large, metal cabinet that stood beside the mattress. Sure enough, through the bended metal, she could see a white line that ran from her hairline all the way down to her chin. She fingered the scar delicately, tracing her thin finger down the wound, unbelieving.

How had this happened? And how was she here? Nothing made sense. She had a vague memory, perhaps a dream, but it was beyond her, lost somewhere in the shadows of her mind.

Looking in the metal of the cupboard, she realized how wrong her face looked. Her hair was too long and straight, making her face look angular, pinched. She reached forward and grasped a scalpel that lay on a desk that sat beside the bed. Gripping it in her palm, she brought it up to her head.

Flame clutched a large chunk of her hair in one hand, the blade in the other. In one fluid motion, she brought the knife down. There was a soft snipping noise, and what seemed like miles of hair fell to the floor, drifting in wisps through the air.

She continued to slash at her hair until all that was left was a short pixie cut. Flame ran her thin fingers through the remaining hair, gazing at herself in the warped metal. She had to admit, it suited her much better.

Once her work was done, she stood up. Flame picked up the blanket that lay discarded on the floor and wrapped it around her naked body, forming a improvised dress.

The door to the room lay slightly agape, which Flame thought was odd. If they had been captured by Drac's (which she'd come to the conclusion they had been), one, why would they keep her alive, and two, why not have tighter security.

Flame walked cautiously out of the white room, only to find herself in a corridor that shared almost the exact same décor as the room she just left. Everything was white and brutally lit.

Suddenly she saw a shadow appear on the tiled floor from behind her. Flame spun around, her hand reaching down to her waist where her ray gun would _normally _be, but wasn't.

She came face to face with a Draculoid, but was surprised when she saw that it held nothing but a bundle of clothes, not a ray gun to blow her brains out. The Drac held the clothes out to her and she took them warily, before walking back into the room where she had woken up, looking over her shoulder the whole way, making sure the Drac wasn't going to shoot her from behind her back.

Unfolding the bundle that lay in her arms, she realized it was a grey jumpsuit. Not her clothes of choice, but it was better than running about in a bed sheet. She slipped the suit on. It was a perfect fit.

Walking out the door again, she realized the Drac was no longer standing outside. Gazing left and right down the hallway, she was certain it was deserted.

Walking along, she could hear faint voices. Following the faint mumble, she stumbled outside a fairly large door. Pressing her ear to the cold metal, she was certain this was where the voices were coming from.

She slowly pushed the door open, and the voices in the room became silent at once.

It was a fairly large circular hall with a holographic table in the center, showing a map of the Zones. Surrounding the table were chairs. The first person she saw was Crimson, her hands clamped to the armrests. She stared up at Flame incredulously.

"Flame!" she said in a loud whisper. The other killjoys looked up at the sound of Crimson's voice. Kobra, Ghoul, Jet, they all looked up at her, their eyes scared and worried. And then she saw the person who was seated at the head of the table, wearing the matching grey jumpsuit she was, his red hair flaming around his face.

Party Poison was alive.


	17. Your Lip Gloss Smile

"Poison?" Flame's voice was barely over a whisper. She couldn't stop staring at the red haired male. The one they'd been looking for for months.

"Poison!" Flame surged forward, and Poison stood up just in time before Flame had wrapped her arms around his neck in a hug.

"I can't believe it's really you," she whispered into his shoulder, then suddenly she pulled away, embarrassed.

"I'm Synthetic Flame, by the way," she held out a hand which he took, her cheeks growing red at her sudden outburst.

Flame looked around at the others. Their eyes were full of fear. That was when Flame saw Crimson fully. Her stomach was swollen.

"Crimson, what …?" Flame struggled, unable to find the words she was seeking.

"We've all been unconscious for eight months," Crimson smiled, but her eyes were sad, "Apparently we got killed in a blast, but they brought us back. That's why you have all the scars. You must have been closest when the bomb went off. By the way, what happened to your hair?"

Flame brought her hand up to her head, expecting to feel the long, lavender locks, but then remembering they were no longer there.

"I cut it off. It made my face look sickly," she shrugged with an awkward smile, "But anyway, the baby must be due any day!"

Crimson smiled forlornly, nodding.

"Oh, and Flame!" Crimson's eyes suddenly got wide, "It's … everything, it was all -"

Her words were interrupted as the door to the hall opened, revealing a figure with long, straight black hair.

"Disaster?" Flame said, astonished. Beautiful Disaster smiled down at Flame, but the smile didn't reach her eyes.

"Synthetic Flame," Disaster said, "I see you got your clothes alright?"

"You're the one who blew us up?" Flame yelled, ignoring Disaster's first question, "How could you do that?"

"'Cause she's been working for BL/ind all along," Crimson glared, "She's a robot,"

Anger boiled in Flame. Betrayed by one of their own? But then again, Disaster had never been one of them, if what Crimson said was true.

"Please, take a seat," the robot Disaster motioned to the empty seat beside Party Poison. Flame didn't move. Disaster sighed.

"Things would be so much better if you cooperate. We're not going to kill you. Don't you think if we were, we would have done that already?"

Disaster had a point. Taking a step back, Flame sat in the seat, still glaring up at the robot. Disaster smiled smugly.

"Now, we have just landed in Battery City," Disaster spoke to the whole group, her hands joined behind her back. Flame looked at her suspiciously.

"You will all be moved into division cells where you will remain unless called for. Failure to do this will result in severe consequences," from the look in Disaster's eyes, Flame could guess what these 'consequences' were. They weren't dead yet, but they very well could be any time.

"Now," Disaster continued, "If I could ask Synthetic Flame and Party Poison to follow me," it wasn't a question. It was a demand. Flame stood up slowly, followed by Poison. They followed Disaster out the door, looking back nervously at the rest of the group.

Once they were out into the white hallway, Flame dared to talk to Poison.

"How long have you been back alive?" she whispered, looking warily at Disaster who stood a couple of metres in front of them.

"I don't know," Flame had never heard his voice, but it was exactly how she imagined it, "It's kind of hard to tell time. But I would say at least three months, maybe more, maybe less,"

Flame nodded. She wasn't sure what she was nodding about, but it seemed appropriate.

Suddenly, up ahead, Disaster opened a door to the left, stepping inside. Poison and Flame followed wearily.

The room, unlike any of the others they'd encountered, was dimly lit. There was only one light that sat on a desk in the middle of the small room, that only lit a small circle, and the rest of the room was engulfed in darkness.

There was a swivel chair seated behind the desk, facing away from Poison and Flame. Two chairs sat close to the two killjoys, and Disaster motioned for them to sit down. They complied hesitantly.

Slowly, the high backed swivel chair began to spin until it was fully facing the killjoys. Absentmindedly, Flame's hand shot down to her waist, groping for her ray gun, only to be reminded for the second time that day that it wasn't there.

Korse sat smirking at Flame, his pale eyes glinting in the dim light of the desk lamp.

Flame attempted to stand up, but Disaster was there in a moment, her hands clamping down on Flame's shoulders, holding her in her seat.

"Hello, Synthetic Flame," Korse continued to sneer at her. Flame spat at the man. He closed his eyes, clenching his jaw in disgust.

"Now, now," he wiped his cheek dramatically and Flame rolled her eyes, "We just want to talk to you,"

Korse tilted forward so his head was resting in his hands.

"We think that you would be very valuable to us, Synthetic Flame," Korse continued, "An extremely powerful ally,"

Flame snorted.

"Ha! Like _that's_ going to happen," she turned away from him, looking instead at the wall. She heard Korse sigh.

"Think about it. Beautiful Disaster …?"

Disaster took one hand off Flame's shoulder and helped her to stand up. She marched Poison and Flame out of the room.

"You may now head back to the room with the others," Disaster said, "Failure to go there immediately will result in consequences,"

And with that, she walked back into the room where Korse was seated.

Flame opened her mouth to say something, but was stopped as Poison pushed her into the wall. The corridor was completely deserted.

"You have to do what he says," Poison sounded nervous and kept looking around,

"What?" Flame said incredulously. Was Party Poison suggesting they _join forces with Korse_?

"Listen, things will be so much better for everyone!" Poison continued, looking at her face. His red hair hung in front of his eyes, "No more running, no more hiding! Everything will go back to the way it was before the fires! But this time, it'll be under your rule!"

Flame opened her mouth, attempting to speak, but was interjected as Poison's lips crashed down on hers. Her eyes opened wide as he kissed her, but eventually, she softened into the kiss, kissing him back. His fingers glided through her short hair along her scalp.

Then Poison broke away, stepping back.

"Think about it, _please_," and with that, he turned on his heels and began to run down the long corridor, leaving Flame to wonder about exactly what had just happened.


	18. Face All The Pain And Take It On

That night was the longest night of Flame's life, and it was only half over. She sat in the corner of the room, totally disregarding the bed, lost in thought. Her thoughts mostly rested on Poison, and the unexpected scene in the hallway.

It just hadn't seemed like something Poison would do, even though she barely knew the man. And besides, she'd only known him for a couple of _minutes_ at that point. So for him to just up and kiss her was very peculiar.

And what was all this he was talking about with doing what Korse said? Nothing seemed to quite fit.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a sudden bloodcurdling scream that made her almost jump out of her skin.

Flame stood up quickly, marching to the door as promptly as possible.

Gazing through the small window that was cut into the door, she pressed her hand firmly onto the glass as another chilling cry approached, drawing nearer and nearer to Flame's room.

Whatever was making the noise was coming closer, for Flame could now hear faint sobs and the squealing of wheels on tile.

And then, from the end of the hallway, a hospital bed came into sight, being dragged along by three Drac's. Whoever was lying in the hospital bed was the source of the screaming. And Flame had an anxious feeling as to who that might be …

Her thoughts were confirmed as the hospital bed passed by her room. A flash of black and red hair, a small face contorted in pain, a large bump in the stomach region.

Crimson Pixie was in labor.

* * *

Nervousness clouded Crimson's vision. Her water had broke only a couple of minutes ago, and the contractions had begun. She was giving birth. It was impossibly hard to get this thought around in her head. She was actually having a child.

She called out as the little baby inside her pushed, trying to free itself from Crimson's body. Small tears leaked from her eyes, and then she noticed something was missing.

"Ghoul," she choked out, "Flame,"

The three Drac's that surrounded her looked at each other, as if asking a silent question. Then two took off out the door to the infirmary and back into the hallway.

Moment's later, the two Drac's returned, towing along Fun Ghoul and Synthetic Flame. They were at Crimson's side in a moment, each of them clasping one of her hands in both of theirs. Flame relaxingly stroked the back of Crimson's hand as her back arched. Ghoul whispered soothingly as she cried softly, her eyes scrunched up.

For hours they sat there as Crimson gave birth to her first child. The minutes ticked by, and then, after six or so hours, Crimson gave a gasp, and a cry was heard, but it wasn't coming from Crimson.

One of the Drac's leaned forward, coming back up with a small bloody being inside a white blanket. The Draculoid walked forward and placed the newborn in Crimson's open arms. In an instant, the pain vanished from her face, turning instead into pure fascination. Ghoul leaned forward to peer down at the infant. Flame sat back, staring at the couple with a soft smile on her face. How happy they looked, how _together_. Like a family.

Suddenly Crimson looked up at Flame, and held the small, squirming child out to her. She grasped it tentatively before pulling it close. The child, who Flame now realized to be female, cried loudly, but Flame didn't seem to notice it. The child's small head was sprouting dark brown hair, much like Ghoul's, but she had Crimson's big eyes. Flame didn't realize she was crying until a small droplet of water fell from her face onto the baby's bloody head.

Suddenly, a shadow fell over the baby. Flame looked up to see a Drac hovering over her, its arms outstretched, waiting. Hesitantly, Flame deposited the baby into the Drac's arms. It carried the small child away to a small, white crib that lay waiting. Then two Drac's tended to Flame and Ghoul, pulling them up (but not before Ghoul could plant a sweet kiss on Crimson's cheek) and carried them out of the infirmary. Crimson, Flame assumed, would be remaining in the infirmary over night.

It was now mid morning, but Flame was exhausted, having not gotten any sleep the night before. As soon as the Drac dropped her off in her room, or 'cell' as she thought of it, she collapsed on the bed and fell instantly into a undisturbed, dreamless sleep.

***A/N : Meh , I didn't really like this chapter . I didn't think it was descriptive enough, but then again, I've never given birth, so I have no idea what it's like xD Well, I hope you guys liked it better than me :P**

**~Alteration~**


	19. Blast It To The Back Row

***A/N : Bah, sorry for the late update, but my laptop crashed, so I had to write all this out on my home computer whenever my dad wasn't on it -.- grr xD ah well , enjoy part nineteen xD***

**~Alteration~**

Flame sat alone in the corner of her small room. The white tiles that say below her were immaculate, as though they had never, or _would_ ever see dust.

She rested her head on her knees, thinking about the night before. Crimson was a mother. She had a daughter.

Flame sighed. This was no world for a newborn child. Murders everyday, running, hiding, screaming, fearing. It wasn't the ideal place to grow up. Especially if you were on the wrong side.

Which got Flame thinking. Perhaps they _were_ on the wrong side … Ever since Party Poison had brought it up, she'd been brooding over the fact that maybe they were fighting for the wrong people … Maybe things _would_ be better if everyone was the same … No more running or hiding. Just order and peace.

And what was it Korse had said? How she would be a valuable ally, a _leader_? Why her? What had she done to deserve leadership? If anything, it should be the Fabulous Killjoys. They were more used to being leaders, hell, they'd been leading a rebellion for years. But Flame? What had she done? Run around for years hiding, battling with Drac's whenever she got a chance? That was all. She wasn't the one there on that fateful night in Battery City. She hadn't helped with the freedom, the saving, if that's what it was. Perhaps it was more like damnation. Trapped out there in the desert, it was hell. Compared to the Zones, Battery City was like a heaven …

Flame heaved a sigh. Nothing seemed to make sense in her mind. Poison, Korse, sides, Crimson's daughter, they all faded in and out of her brain in circular motions, making sure they were all seen and contemplated on, causing her to be even more confused than she already was.

The thought that appeared most behind her eyes was Poison. The red-haired male seemed to be at the climax of everything. Why would he turn from everything he'd believed in? He'd always been the leader of the rebels, the one they all looked up to. And now suddenly he wanted her to join with Korse, stop the Killjoys? It just didn't add up … and what of the kiss? Why had Poison kissed her? It didn't seem to make sense. They'd only known each other for a couple of _minutes_! It just didn't seem to make sense.

And then there was the fact of Poison being _alive_. Why had Korse brought him back from the dead if he was such a great threat? It was almost as though –

Flame's eyes widened as realization dawned on her. She stood up quickly. The others were all in the hall where she had first met Poison.

She rushed out of her room into the white hallway, encountering a Drac almost instantly. Perfect.

Flame smashed her elbow into the Draculoid's face, hearing a satisfying crunch as its nose broke. Twisting the Drac over her hip, it fell to the tiled floor with a muffled thud and was still. Blood leaked out of the mask from its broken nose.

Stooping down, Flame retrieved the fallen Drac's ray gun and pocketed it quickly. With that, she ran quickly down the hallway, her feet hitting the tiled floor silently.

* * *

Chat and laughter filled the small hall where the killjoy's were gathered. Crimson looked over at Kobra and saw in his eyes how truly happy he was that his brother was back.

Crimson and Ghoul's baby was still in the infirmary, but they were told they would get to see her often until she was old enough to reside in on of the block rooms. They couldn't decide on a name.

Suddenly Poison stood up, brushing his red hair away from his face.

"What's up, bro?" Kobra asked, looking up at his brother. Poison just smiled down at him.

"Nothing, I'm just going to go get something fro-" his words were interrupted as the door to the hall opened with a loud bang, followed by the zap of a ray gun. Poison fell to the floor, unmoving, blood trickling from the wound on his temple. His eyes were open but empty, the life having left them. And there, in the doorway, stood Synthetic Flame, ray gun raised high, smoke billowing out of the barrel, and her face devoid of all emotion.


	20. Cleaned Up, Corporation Progress

***A/N : Holy crap, twenty chapters ? O.O I never actually thought I'd get this far :P Thank's so much to everyon's who's stuck with me , I love you all :)***

**~Alteration~**

Kobra was the first to act. He jumped out of his seat, his face contorted in fury, but his eyes showing the pain at having watched his brother die twice. He attempted to run at Flame, but she turned the ray gun on him.

"Don't move Kobra! I don't want to shoot you!" Kobra stopped in his tracks, tears spilling down his tanned cheeks silently. He was shaking as he knelt down beside the dead Poison, pulling the corpse onto his lap. The blood from the wound mixed with Party Poison's vibrant hair.

Crimson, Ghoul and Jet were staring up Flame, their faces showing stunned sadness. Flame realized that she still had the gun raised. Lowering it, she walked forwards. Everyone but Kobra took a step away from her. Crimson had her hand over her mouth, shaking her head, tears clouding her green eyes. Flame turned to Ghoul, whose mouth was hanging open.

"Get me the potion from Kobra's pocket," she said. Ghoul walked forward cautiously towards the Kobra Kid, who seemed unable to do anything but stare into his brother's lifeless eyes.

Fun Ghoul squatted down beside the blonde killjoy and reached into his jacket pocket, retrieving the neon green concoction that had brought the Fabulous Killjoys back to life. He held it out at arms length, and Flame took it in her hands.

"Pull him away from Poison," Kobra seemed to snap at the command. A sob got caught in his throat and he let out a strangled cry.

"Don't you dare say his name!" Kobra screeched as Ghoul and Jet dragged him away from the body. He thrashed, but the two men were stronger than him. They held him back as he sobbed. Flame walked forward towards the dead body and knelt beside Poison's head. The gash where she had shot him glistened with scarlet blood.

Flame turned his head so the slash was facing the ceiling, and she removed the cork from the near empty bottle of liquid. Tilting the bottle, she dispensed the neon liquid onto the wound. It fizzed as it absorbed into the skin. Poison's body shuddered as his brain and blood vessels began to reform and repair inside his skull.

Suddenly, the killjoy's eyes blinked once, twice, three times. Flame exhaled as Poison looked up at her.

"Where the hell am I?" he said groggily, "And who the fuck are you?"

Kobra gasped, attempting to crawl over to his brother, but the two killjoys held him back. Flame turned to Poison again.

"What is the last thing you can remember?" she demanded. Poison closed his eyes, thinking.

"BL/ind. We were fighting, and then Korse shot me … damn, that fucking hurt …" his voice trailed off, leaving Flame satisfied. She stood up, followed shortly by Poison. That was when Kobra broke free from Jet and Ghoul, jumping forward and embracing his brother. Poison hugged him back, squeezing his brother's thin form. Crimson, on the other hand, remained staring at Flame.

"What the FUCK?" she shrieked, tears leaking from her eyes, "What did you just do?"

That's when Flame explained everything. The kiss, how Korse wanted her to join forces with him, everything. The only thing she left out was her doubts about whether they were fighting for the right side.

"That still doesn't explain why you killed Poison!" Ghoul shouted

"Poison, after being brought back to life by BL/ind, was brainwashed, kind of like a Drac, but so that he was more intelligent. He was 'programmed' to attempt to convert me to work with Korse. He thought the easiest way to do this was to get Poison close to me, so he had him kiss me," Flame explained, "All of this adds up. So, I had a theory, that if I killed Poison, then brought him back to life, it would act as a sort of backspace, leaving him how he was before he was brought back the first time,"

"And what if you were wrong?" Jet asked. Flame shrugged.

"Then we would have been skrewed," she answered, "But I wasn't wrong, was I?"

The rest if the killjoys stood silently for a couple of moments, before Flame snapped back into action.

"Now," she said, her voice commanding, "We have to go. Before that Drac I knocked out wakes up and raises the alarm. Our plan is to get out of here, and kill Korse along the way,"

The rest of the killjoys sprung into action, running out of the hall into the empty corridor. Kobra explained to his brother about everything that had happened since he'd been killed as they ran to the infirmary, their first stop.

The hospital ward was empty but for one Drac, who Crimson ghosted at once with the stolen ray gun. Ghoul grabbed his baby girl, placing her safely inside his jacket, so that only a small amount of her tiny head was visible. They then continued to run.

As they ran down the corridor, there was suddenly a loud ringing, followed by red lights flashing. The alarm had been sprung.

Sprinting along the hallway, they made their way to the storage room where all of their stuff that had been taken was placed. They picked up their bags with all their supplies, and left quickly.

"Now, we have to go to the laboratories, and set some explosives," Flame stated. The others looked at her questioningly.

"That's where everything goes down," she continued, "All the experiments, everything that keeps Korse alive, and most of all the serum that brings people back to life,"

"So, why do we want to destroy that?" Flame sighed at Ghoul's comment,

"Because when we kill Korse, we don't want some Drac coming and bringing him back to life, do we? That would defeat the whole purpose,"

And so, they continued along the many winding hallways, headed for the laboratories. All the way, Flame could not hide the feeling that something was about to go terribly wrong.


	21. Across These City Streets

Sirens continued to wail as the killjoys ran down the hallway to the laboratories. Ruby lights flashed, casting the pristine white walls in a scarlet glow. Draculoids would soon be filling the empty halls, ready to ambush them. The killjoys had to get out before that happened.

The door to the laboratories came into sight, and Flame skidded to a stop in front of it. With one swift movement, the door slammed open, smashing into the interior wall of the laboratory. Five zaps from a ray gun were heard, and Drac after Drac fell to the floor, unmoving.

They would have to move quickly. Kobra knew they would be coming for them soon.

Promptly, Flame reached behind her, pulling her back-pack over her shoulder onto the metal top of one of the experiment counters. From that she extracted a large, metal canister.

Placing it firmly on the countertop, she twisted it sideways, and a small jet of steam shot out from the bottom of the flask. Satisfied, Flame stood back, examining the small explosive.

"Alright, it's ready," she said, "Now we've got to go before the horde of Drac's get here,"

"Wait!" Kobra said suddenly, "We should call for reinforcements!"

"And how the hell are we supposed-" Ghoul's words were cut off as Kobra ran to another desk, this one with an odd device on it. Kobra turned a few knobs, twisted a dial, and then picked up a thing that looked like a receiver. He then spoke into it as though he was talking into a telephone.

"Hello, Dr. D?" the group exchanged glances, "It's the Kobra Kid. We've been captured in Battery City. We need reinforcements pronto! Over,"

The group all looked at Kobra.

"How …?" Crimson asked the question they were all thinking.

"It's like a double radio. You tune into the station of your choice then you can talk to whoever's running the radio. After I woke up I went looking about and I saw them working on it. 'Thought it would be a pretty good fail-safe,"

The killjoys continued to stare at the blonde.

"Kobra," Jet said slowly, "You are a _genius_,"

The Kobra Kid blushed slightly.

"I do try. Now come on. Dr. D said that there was a big group headed this way anyway. He said they'd be here in less than half an hour!"

The killjoy's couldn't believe their luck. But that luck wasn't going to last for long if they didn't get out of the building so Flame could detonate the explosives, blowing the laboratories sky high.

Picking up ray guns from fallen Drac's as they went, the killjoys rushed out of the white labs into the corridor. The sirens were still blowing, casting red light against the tiled walls. But now, the killjoys could hear something else, something besides the blaring alarm bell. Footsteps. And they were getting close.

The group gave one fleeting glance at each other, loaded their ray guns, then charged down the hallway leading to the exit. Their loud thump of their running feet reverberated off the walls of the hallway.

And then, the door to the exit was visible. The killjoys knew there were Drac's on the other side of the metal exit, but they also knew they were behind them as well. But they all silently agreed, they'd much rather die out in the air than in some hallway in a Battery City structure. So they chose the door.

The door burst open, and the air was instantly filled with sounds of ray guns, from both ends of the scale. Multicoloured beams shot through the night, lighting up the immaculate buildings in a rainbow of colour.

Drac after Drac fell down to end their days on the cold sand, but the killjoys remained standing. They were much better trained than the Draculoids with a ray gun. In truth, the Drac's were just zombies, almost incapable of anything they weren't told to do, and they'd been told very little about gunfights.

Ghoul brought the butt of his gun down hard on a Drac's skull, and it fell to join the others on the desert floor.

Crimson shot a Drac in the leg, causing it to bow over, and its face colliding with her knee.

Flame had picked up an extra gun from a fallen Draculoid, and was shooting both, one in each hand.

Jet Star was crouched behind a white van, bringing his arm up every so often to shoot a Drac, never missing.

Kobra was using some weird kind of karate to down the Drac's before shooting them. His legs and arms were all over the place, but somehow it seemed to be working.

But it was Poison that shocked them all. He managed to take four Drac's on at once; kicking his feet out, tripping some Drac's, punching others, before zapping them, burning their insides. He jumped about with grace and agility, yet terrifying accuracy. Not one ray missed its target.

"'Don't feel too good to die, does it motherfuckers!" Ghoul screamed at no Drac in particular as he shot them down.

The battle continued, and still none of the killjoy's fell.

Then, there was movement behind Flame. She turned around; ready to elbow the Draculoid in the face, but a hand came up to stop her. Flame looked into the face of a girl, probably about her age, with hair as white as snow that fell down to her waist. Her face was grimy, but her icy blue eyes shone through the dirt. She was dressed in grey short shorts and a black tank-top, covered by a blue leather jacket. A sapphire ray gun was at her waist and another tied by a bandanna just below her knee.

"Ladyboy Diamond, at your service, Synthetic Flame," the girl with the snowy hair smiled at her.

That was when Flame noticed the others. Dozens of killjoys were now fighting alongside the group, their colourful rays filling the air.

Flame laughed out loud. They were here, and they were helping _them_.

Flame twisted around, battling alongside Ladyboy, ray guns flying, Drac's falling. Then Flame remembered what she had to do. She turned to the snowy haired killjoy.

"We need to set explosives everywhere!" she shouted over the roar of the guns, "Let's blast Battery City to the back row!"

Ladyboy shot Flame a sly grin before turning and running to the nearest building, dragging a few other killjoys along with her.

The fight continued, Drac after Drac biting the dust. But it wasn't just Draculoids that were falling now. In amongst the white beings that scattered the desert floor, Flame could see bursts of colour, fallen killjoys that would never see the world change. A lump formed in her throat, but she swallowed it back. She had to stay on task.

That was when a hand grabbed her from behind, covering her mouth and nose so she couldn't breath. Flame tried screaming, but it was no use. The hand dragged her away into a dark empty alley between two white buildings.

She struggled, trying to break free from the grasp the being had on her, but then there was a sharp pain in the crook of her left elbow. She moved her eyes downward and saw a syringe sticking out of the soft skin, and then the gloved hand that held the needle pushed down on the syringe, and pale blue liquid flowed into her bloodstream.

The results were almost immediate. Flame felt her body relax. Her muscles unwound and the thoughts surging through her brain slowed down. She was immobile.

The gloved hand moved downward slightly, exposing her nostrils. Flame inhaled sharply, glad of the cool air coursing down her throat. The only noise she could hear now was the distant sound of ray guns being fired, the soft breathing in her ear, and the pounding of her heart against her ribcage.

Flame heard the lips of the being behind her part, and then a voice spoke softly in her ear.

"Look at it," the voice whispered. Its gloved hand smelled like a hospital, and it made Flame want to gag, but she didn't dare.

"Look at all the carnage out there," the individual behind her said, "All the carnage _you've _created,"

Flame looked out at the fighting people. Drac's were falling, but so were killjoys. Flame watched as a Draculoid raised its ray gun and fired. A male killjoy spun around, almost pirouetting as it fell. Another Draculoid shot at a killjoy, this one female, and Flame watched in horror as her body jerked backward from the impact, falling hard onto the earth, never to move again.

"It could all stop," the voice spoke almost seductively in her ear, "You know what you have to do,"

Flame swallowed back the bile that was beginning to climb up her throat. All of this _could_ change. All of the fighting _could_ stop. But why was it up to her? Why not somebody else? Why did it have to be _her_?

The figure removed its hand from her mouth and lifted her up slightly, dragging her to the side of one of the buildings. He placed her so that she was sitting with her legs straight out in front of her, back against the white building. Flame looked up at the figure, hoping to catch a glimpse of its face, but it was hidden in the shadows.

"You'll gain control of your body in one minute exactly," the figure said, "Then you must make a choice. Whose side are you on? But remember; don't make the wrong one,"

The being then turned on its heels and walked swiftly away down the alley before turning right out of sight. Flame sat, still unmoving, against the wall of the building. The battle was still going on, but she couldn't help.

That was when she thought it. What side _should_ she be helping? BL/ind or the Killjoys? Nothing seemed to make sense anymore. Did she _want _things to go back to the way they were before 2012? Things, as she remembered, weren't all that great. There were wars, fighting, _dying_. With BL/ind promised a perfect future; a future _without_ all the dying. They could put a stop to that, she knew. But was that such a good thing? Living forever, never leaving. It sounded fantastic, all the things you could do, but then what? Once you've done everything, is there anything really left to live for?

But if the rebellion _were_ to win, things wouldn't be perfect. There would be no living forever, there _would _be dying. Things would just go back to the way they were before 2012.

What Flame had to do was think of the greater good. She had the world on her shoulders, and she had to choose whether to throw it into the fire, or the ice. Either way, things would never be the same. So what one was best for the world? Could it survive the fire that came if the rebellion were to win? Could it survive the wars, and the pollution, but also the love and friendship? Or would it be better if it was thrust into ice? The coldness of being the same as everyone else, but as well as the confirmation that everything would be alright, that everyone was safe from everything?

Flame could feel the serum that had been injected into her begin to wear off. She could move her fingers and toes, and then her arms and legs, until finally she was able to move her whole body.

It was time. Flame would have to choose. Fire or ice? Blood or roses? Beautiful and dangerous in different ways.


	22. Give Us More Detonation

The battle raged, multicoloured rays flying through the air, some hitting their target, some missing altogether. Kobra stood in the middle of the fight, killing Drac after Drac, watching as they all fell down, one after the other.

But they were _enormously_ outnumbered. There were only a couple dozen killjoys, and _thousands _of Draculoids, and their numbers were falling. Killjoys were falling all around him, not nearly at the rate the Drac's were, but killjoys were dying. And where was Flame? She was supposed to detonate the explosives soon. A killjoy by the name of Ladyboy Diamond had come up to him a couple of minutes before, saying that all the explosives were set, and on his command, they would be able to 'blast Battery City straight back to hell', as Ladyboy had put it.

Time was running out. They would have to blast it without Flame, wherever she was. Kobra made a couple of turns before he spotted Ladyboy's snowy white hair through the throng of Dracs and killjoys.

"We have to do it now!" Kobra called over to the white haired killjoy, "I don't know where Flame is, but we can't wait any longer! Detonate!"

Ladyboy nodded once before pulling a detonator out of her pocket. She brought one hand up to the side of her head, signaling for Kobra to cover his ears. He did so without hesitation. Just as he covered his ears, Ladyboy brought her finger down on the trigger.

Everything erupted in light as the bomb went off. Dracs and killjoys alike were sent sprawling, clinging to the earth. Even though Kobra had been prepared, his ears were still ringing from the sound of the blast.

Then, just as everything was beginning to die down, there was another explosion, and then another, and then another, like a chain reaction of fire. Ash flew through the air, and from behind his eyelids, Kobra could see the flames as they danced over the remains of the buildings.

The only building left to detonate was the laboratories. None of the explosions would matter if that wasn't destroyed. So where was Synthetic Flame with the trigger?

Flame exited the alleyway just as the first explosion took place. She dropped to the floor, eyes shut tight against the flying ash and sand. Luckily, she wasn't close to the building when it exploded, but she knew that they would just keep detonating.

She stood up and ran as fast as she could, but a couple of seconds later, there was another blast, and she dropped to the earth once more.

It continued like this, run, fall, get up, run fall, etc. for five minutes until she was finally in the center where she knew she would be safe. The explosions continued, but she no longer feared being incinerated by them.

And then finally they were done. Only the laboratories remained, and the detonator for that remained in her bag. She did not reach around to take it out.

The battle had begun once again. Ray gun shots filled the air once more. Flame bent down and picked up a ray gun from a fallen Drac, having lost hers while running from the blasts. She turned it over in her hands, examining it, before readying it.

She heard footsteps behind her, and spun around, coming face to face with Ladyboy Diamond. She had a massive grin on her face, and her blue eyes sparkled.

"We did it, Flame!" she said gleefully, "We blew them all up! We blasted it to the back-"

Her words were stopped by the zap of a ray gun. Her eyes lost their glow as she fell backwards to the floor, her face marred by a ray wound. Her white hair flowed around her corpse.

Synthetic Flame stood above the dead girl, her ray gun still pointed at Ladyboy's smoking head. Flame's jaw was clenched, her face impassive.

She'd made her choice.


	23. All This Broken Bone

The sky over Battery City grew dark and clouded; thunder rumbling in the distance, although no one around would be able to hear it. The only thing anyone would be able to hear was zaps of ray guns as the bloodbath continued.

The Draculoids were pulling ahead. More killjoy bodies littered the ground, and it was beginning to get hard to move at all without standing on one of your deceased friends.

Crimson was beginning to get worried. She hadn't seen Flame in a while, and was starting to fear the worst. What if her best friend had been killed? Anything was possible now, with killjoys dying like flies in the summertime all around them.

Ghoul had somehow managed to keep his daughter safe inside his jacket. She looked terrified, her small eyes wide and brimmed with tears, and her tiny hands clenched into fists. But there was nothing he could do. Either they won this, and the child would be safe, or they lost, but Ghoul didn't even want to _think_ about that outcome.

It seemed like the fighting would never end. For every Draculoid that fell down, another took its place. And the number of killjoys was deteriorating.

Kobra staggered through the throng of Drac and killjoy bodies, battling as he went. He was on the lookout for Flame.

Then, through the ash, he spotted a flash of white that was different from the Drac's uniforms. He rushed over, and looked at the sight.

He wanted to gag, to throw up. Ladyboy's face was completely ruined, a large, bloody ray wound between her open, lifeless eyes. Kobra bent down beside the corpse. Just as the first raindrops began to fall over Battery City, the Kobra Kid closed the eyes of the dead killjoy.

A shadow fell over Ladyboy's departed form. Turning around, Kobra could see that a figure was hovering over him, its hair short and severely cut.

"Flame?" Kobra stared up at his friend. Then he tensed as she raised her ray gun up so he was staring down the barrel of the gun.

"Flame, what's going on?" he said cautiously, slowly standing up, "What are you doing?"

"Kobra, I'm here to help you," but Flame did not lower her gun, but continued to point it straight between his eyes.

Kobra tried to speak, but all he could do was open and close his mouth noiselessly.

"We're on the wrong side, Kobra," Flame spoke softly, "Join with BL/ind, join with _me_, and the future will be better than it ever was,"

Kobra shook his head, unbelieving. His eyes were wide, hazel portals.

"Who are you?" he whispered,

"I'm still me, Kobra. But I'm now thinking of the greater good of the world,"

"You're not Flame," Kobra continued to shake his head, "You're not the girl who rescued us, who was so _determined_ to find Party Poison. You're not that girl. I don't know who you are,"

Flame's jaw clenched.

"Join with me, Kobra!" she said loudly, her eyes almost pleading, "Please! For me!"

The Kobra Kid looked at the girl who once inspired him, who kept him going through the long months of desert and rocks and cans of baked beans. But that girl was dead now.

"I would never join with BL/ind," Kobra stood firm, "Kill me if you have to, but I'd rather die who I am, than turn into something I'm not,"

Flame's face contorted with anger and sadness. She lowered the ray gun, and Kobra thought he was about to be spared, but then there was a loud zap, and unbelievable pain in his left leg. He fell to the floor, a blood-curdling shriek emitting from his lips. Once on the ground, Flame shot him in the leg again and again and again, until all that was left of his legs was bloody and charred bone.

The Kobra Kid screamed at the burning pain, his breath raspy and short. He clutched at the burnt remains.

Synthetic Flame turned away, tears escaping from her eyes, and fled, leaving Kobra screaming beside the dead body of Ladyboy Diamond.


	24. Hollow Point Smile

Poison heard the scream from the other side of the massacre. His head turned sharply to the direction of the shriek. He knew that sound. Kobra was in trouble.

Poison began to sprint across the battlefield, ignoring everyone in his path. Killjoys turned to look at him curiously as he ran, and Draculoids turned their ray guns on him, but were too slow to hit their target. Poison continued to dash across the battlefield.

He came to a slight clearing. There he saw his little brother, sitting on the ground, his back to Poison. Rushing over, it soon became clear the reason for his brother's pain.

The Kobra Kid's legs were barely more than blood-spattered bone and muscle. All the skin had been burned off by multiple ray wounds, leaving the muscle slick with blood.

"Kobra!" Poison mopped the sweat, blood and tears off his brother's pain-filled face. Kobra was breathing heavy, and Poison could tell that he needed immediate medical attention from the blood loss he was suffering from.

But where were they going to get medical attention? They'd just blown up the Battery City infirmary only a couple of minutes ago!

Kobra's breathing became raspier as he struggled to get oxygen all around his body with the limited blood supply he had left. Party Poison held his brother close, stroking the blonde hair off of his face. He knew Kobra's time was near.

"What happened to you, Kobra?" Poison dared to ask,

"F-Flame," he managed to choke out, "S-s-she's turned a-against us. S-s-she j-joined with K-Korse,"

Poison couldn't believe his ears. This was the girl who, just a couple of hours ago, had planned on killing Korse and blasting BL/ind into oblivion. Where was that girl now? What had happened to her?

Then, a sharp wind blew through the rain that was falling steadily. Poison looked up just in time to see a small hovercraft land not ten meters away from him. The door opened steadily with a hissing noise.

Poison gasped as the figures that were standing in the doorway became visible. But his shock quickly turned into relief.

"Dr. D!" Poison beamed up at the radio man, and then turned to the smaller figure standing beside him, "And Missile Kid! You made it out of Battery City alright last time!"

Missile Kid hugged the red haired killjoy tightly.

"I'm so glad you're alive!" she whispered to him softly,

"Alright, alright," Dr. D sighed, "We can have our lovey-dovey moment later. Right now we've got to get the Kobra Kid here some help,"

Dr. Deathdefying picked up the thin blonde with ease.

"Wow, he's pretty thin, don't ya think?" Dr. D remarked at Kobra's lightness. Poison shrugged.

"I guess that's what happens when you're only living on beans for years," Dr. D chuckled.

"Now you get back in that fight, Party Poison. You've gotta protect the killjoys," Poison nodded, and Dr. D turned around once again, and walked away into the hovercraft with Kobra. Poison watched as it soared up in the air, and then vanished as Dr. D put on its cloaking shield.

The rain continued to fall as Party Poison turned around, full of anger and pain, to go back to the fight.

After shooting the Kobra Kid, Flame had run. She had run faster than she had ever run before. Tears spilled down her cheeks and fell behind her, mixing in with the rain.

What was happening to her? She was turning into a monster. The old Flame would _never _have done that to _anyone_, let alone one of her friends.

But BL/ind would be better for the world, wouldn't it? Basically, it was perfect. A perfect world.

But life under the killjoys would be beautiful. There would be music, and _real_ people, not just Dracs.

But she'd made her choice. Perfect was the only thing the world could handle. Beautiful hadn't worked out, so it was time for new management.

Flame brushed her tears away roughly, allowing her sadness to turn to anger. None of that would have had to happen to Kobra if he'd just joined with her. But he was nothing to her now. A useless life form.

"Flame!"

She turned around to see the source of the voice. Standing a couple of meters in front of her was Party Poison, his red hair drenched from the downpour. His face was full of anger.

"What do you want, Party Poison?" she asked gruffly, turning slightly, wishing that she still had her long hair to hide behind.

"You almost killed my brother!" he screamed, eyes blazing with fury.

Flame swallowed, on the verge of tears once more. But she couldn't let her emotions show through. She channeled her sorrow into anger. Anger at humanity, anger at all the killjoys who stood in the way of her perfect world.

"Just walk away, Poison!" she yelled over the roar of the rain and the ray guns, "You know I don't want to kill you!"

"Oh, like you didn't want to kill Kobra? So you just settled with maiming him?"

Flame could feel the anger boiling inside her. How _dare_ he? Mocking her like this? She would soon be the leader of everyone! Including him, _if he stayed alive that long_.

Flame raised her ray gun so that it pointed straight at Poison's heart.

"Walk … Away," she hissed, her finger tightening on the trigger.

Still, Poison's feet didn't move. Instead, his hand wound around the ray gun at his hip.

Flame's jaw clenched as Poison brought the ray gun up to meet hers.

"So this is it then?" her eyes narrowed and she shook her head, a mocking smile playing at her lips.

"I guess so," his face was cold and unaffected by the fact that he was staring down the barrel of a gun.

Then, his blank faced changed, a scornful smile lit up his face, and his eyes turned mocking. Flame knew he was going to shoot.

It was like he hadn't even moved. Poison still continued to stare at Flame, their eyes meeting. Then, the gun that was pointed at her face wasn't. She heard a shot being fired, and watched, as though in slow motion, as a red laser escaped from Poison's gun, traveled through the air, and hit her fallen backpack.

The world erupted in flames as the final bomb was detonated. Both Flame and Poison were sent flying through the air, hitting the sand hard. All the chemicals in the laboratories made for an even bigger explosion than planned. Fire blazed everywhere, and toxic gases flew up into the air. Anyone, Drac or killjoy alike, that was within three hundred meters of the laboratories was killed instantly.

And then there was hush. No one moved. For the first time that night, Battery City was cast in utter silence.

But it wouldn't last.


	25. Covered In All My Friends

When the last bomb exploded, Fun Ghoul had not expected it, but he had been prepared. As the laboratories detonated, he swung his arms around the small lump inside his jacket protectively.

Hitting the floor, he gasped out in pain as his wrist took all of the impact, probably breaking it. But the baby was safe. She was crying and terrified, but she was in one piece.

Getting up on his hands and knees, his broken wrist still holding his daughter to his chest, he spotted Crimson a few feet away, stirring.

"Crimson!" he called over weakly. She propped herself up on one elbow awkwardly, looking at him. Her eyes traveled over to the bulge in her lover's jacket, and they went wide with fear.

"She's fine," Ghoul assured her, knowing exactly what she was thinking. Crimson exhaled in relief, "But I think my wrist's broken,"

Crimson looked worriedly up at him, but he shook her off.

"Hey, I have two hands, right?" his face broke into a smile, and she couldn't help but grin back.

Suddenly Draculoids and killjoys around them began to stir, and Ghoul quickly stood up, pulling out his ray gun. Crimson followed shortly afterwards, offering to hold the baby, but Ghoul waved her off, promising to take care of their daughter. Crimson smiled. She hoped he would be able to.

* * *

Party Poison woke up, his head throbbing, and an annoying ringing in his ears. Coughing up a lungful of ash, he brought himself up onto all fours, gagging slightly at the horrific smell of the toxic fumes.

Standing up, he saw Flame laying a couple of meters away. He didn't know whether she was alive or dead, nor did he have any urge to check. That would involve touching her.

Looking around, Poison soon noticed that almost everybody around him was likely dead. Shrapnel wounds littered their skin, the blood of his enemies and friends soaking the sand. He hoped that Jet, Ghoul and Crimson had made it out alive.

He began to walk through the sea of dead bodies, _trying_ not to step on the deceased, but it was impossible. Sometimes it was a hand, others a foot, but either way, he was stepping on a person. Whether they were the enemy or his companions, he didn't look.

Finally, through the clouds of ash, he saw a figure standing, looking around. He began to run towards it. Poison didn't care whether or not it was a killjoy or a Drac, he was just happy that someone beside himself was alive.

As he drew closer to the figure, its form became clearer. Poison could now see curly hair spiraling out of the figure's head. Poison breathed a sigh of relief before sprinting towards the outline.

"Jet Star!" he called as he ran through the ash. The figure turned to look at the running killjoy.

"Poison?" Jet asked as the red haired killjoy stopped in front of him, "Poison, what just happened?"

Party explained everything to Jet, how Flame had turned against them, how he was the one who had to detonate the laboratories. All through his explanation, Jet Star stood in shocked silence. He couldn't believe that Flame, the woman who had saved them all, had turned to BL/ind and _almost killed Kobra_. It stunned him.

"We need to find Ghoul and Crimson," Poison said once he had finished explaining, "I need to know that they're safe,"

Jet nodded in agreement, and they set off through the sea of the departed, searching for their friends, not knowing whether they would find them dead or alive.


	26. Blow An Artery

Once inside the hovercraft, Dr. D placed Kobra on a waiting stretcher. Two killjoys, Gasoline Extract and Shockwave Gunner, wheeled him quickly through the white hallways to the small hospital ward.

As soon as they were inside, they strapped Kobra to the stretcher so he wouldn't flail about.

Gasoline and Shockwave pulled on surgical gloves and masks before looking at each other worriedly.

"Have you ever done anything like this?" Gasoline asked as he examined a small scalpel.

Shockwave shook his head.

"Never anything _this _serious," he grimaced at the raw muscle of Kobra's legs. Both Gasoline and Shockwave were killjoy doctors, but neither of them had had any experience with someone whose legs had almost been lasered off.

* * *

Dr. Deathdefying and Missile Kid stood outside the ward, nervous. They had no idea what was going to happen to Kobra.

"He's going to be okay, isn't he?" Missile kid said suddenly, her eyes almost pleading. Dr. D looked down into her small face.

"I'm sure he'll be fine," he assured the girl, _and _himself.

Suddenly, the intercom that sat outside the hospital ward beeped. Dr. D pressed a small button, awaiting the message from inside the ward.

"Dr. D," came Shockwave's voice, "It's too serious. We can't repair it. We're going to have to amputate,"

Bile rose in Missile's throat as she heard the verdict. They were going to have to cut off Kobra's legs.

"Can you give him other legs?" Dr. D asked weakly,

"No, we don't have the materials," Shockwave spoke again, "The best thing we can do is get rid of the infected tissue before it spreads through the rest of his body,"

Dr. D nodded sickly, before realizing the killjoys could not see him. He quickly answered.

"Do what you have to do, motorbabies," Dr. D pressed the button on the intercom, ending the message.

Missile Kid looked up at Dr. D, horror plastered all over her face. Dr. D hugged her tightly, assuring her that Kobra would be alright.

Shockwave cancelled the message to Dr. D. He did not like that he would have to amputate Kobra's legs, but it was the only way they could keep him safe and alive.

Shockwave nodded at Gasoline, and the second killjoy readied a syringe full of anesthesia. Leaning forward, Gasoline lowered the needle into the skin of Kobra's wrist before pushing down the plunger, injecting the liquid into his blood stream.

After a moment or two, the Kobra Kid dozed off, and Shockwave and Gasoline prepared for the amputation.

However, they did not have the proper materials for amputation either. The only thing they had was two sterile saws. Gasoline gagged at what they had to do.

Each killjoy grabbed a saw, and took a leg. Shockwave bit back his revulsion as he brought the saw down on the sleeping killjoy's right leg and began to saw back and forward, cutting through the muscle like butter. But it was when he got to the bone that he began to get truly revolted. No matter how hard he tried, Shockwave could not just imagine he was cutting through a piece of firewood. It remained bone, and would remain bone in his mind.

Gasoline had the same thoughts as he sawed through Kobra's left leg, breaking new veins and arteries, causing the killjoy's blood to spill onto the white paper that lay on top of the stretcher.

Once the legs were separated from the rest of Kobra's body, Gasoline went to work sewing the skin back together, so no bone and muscle tissue was visible. Shockwave closed his eyes tightly as he placed the legs in a large, white bag. He was stunned at how limp they were, almost like a doll's legs. That disgusted him even more.

Once he'd placed the bag holding the killjoy's limbs down a chute that led to the incinerator, Shockwave returned to Kobra's side, poking a needle that was connected to a bag of blood in Kobra's arm. He'd lost a lot of blood during the operation, and needed more to stay alive.

Gasoline had finished sewing the skin together, and stood back to examine his work. The stumps that were once Kobra's legs were bruised black and blue, but they were sterile, and no more blood was leaking since Gasoline had repaired the broken veins and arteries.

The two killjoys walked back to Kobra's side, and on the count of three, they picked him up, sliding the bloodstained paper out from under him, replacing it with a fresh sheet.

Gasoline checked to make sure everything was working fine. Kobra's heart rate was only slightly above normal, but that was alright. All seemed to have gone well.

Shockwave and Gasoline removed their surgical masks and gloves, throwing them in the garbage before heading out into the hallway where Dr. D and Missile Kid were waiting. Dr. D gave both the killjoys a questioning look.

"The operation went well," Gasoline assured them, and Missile Kid heaved a sigh of relief.

"He should wake up in about a half an hour. You'll be able to see him then,"

Dr. D nodded, and Missile hugged the man tightly, her heart still beating a mile a minute. Kobra was alright. He was legless, but he was going to live. Missile had never felt so relieved.


	27. I'm Who I've Got To Be

A cough, a splutter, and then Flame's eyes opened wearily, ash clouding her vision. Lifting her head slightly, she found that gravel was imprinted on her cheek, mixing nicely with the harsh scars that marred the left side of her body.

She tried to prop herself up on one elbow, only to call out in immense pain. She grabbed her right arm, and when she brought her left hand away, she found that it was soaked with blood.

Peering downward, she noticed a large gash on her arm. A shrapnel wound, most likely. And then she remembered.

Poison had detonated the final bomb by shooting it in her backpack. He had killed thousands of Draculoids, but also many killjoys. Flame smirked at that. He hadn't thought through his plan very well.

Supporting herself on her left arm this time, she looked around at the corpses around her. She saw no red hair, therefore Poison was still alive.

Coughing, Flame brought herself slowly to her feet. She had lost her ray gun, but there were no shortages here. She kicked a deceased killjoy, causing the green ray gun it held to skid across the sand. She stooped down, picking it up and readying it. Flame then walked through the ocean of corpses, searching for Poison.

Jet Star and Party Poison walked silently across the battleground, still searching for their friends. They had come across a few living killjoys, but most of them were close to death, just bleeding away. Poison hated walking away from them as they pleaded, but there was nothing he could do. He had no ways of helping them.

They also spotted other killjoys as they ran, hoping to get out of Battery City alive. Jet and Poison didn't blame them. Things did not look good for the rebellion, with so many killjoys dead.

Then, out of the ash, two more figures became clearer. Poison didn't want to get his hopes up though. They could be just two Dracs, or two killjoys. But as the ash receded, their forms began to get clearer.

"Poison!" Fun Ghoul shouted, and Jet and Poison began to sprint towards their friends.

"I'm so glad you're alive!" they all said at once, and then laughed. But then it was Crimson who asked the question.

"Where's Flame?"

Poison looked down, kicking around a stone with the toe of his boot, unspeaking. From the corner of his eye, he saw Crimson's eyes grow wide.

"D-don't tell me she's …"

"No," Poison interjected, "She's not dead, not that I know. She … She …"

"She what?" Crimson was almost shouting now, "What did she do Poison?"

Party Poison swallowed hard before sighing. Crimson needed to know the truth.

"She turned against us," he said finally, "She joined with BL/ind, with Korse. She killed Ladyboy, maimed Kobra, and almost killed me. I'm so sorry, Crimson,"

Crimson just stood there, shaking her head.

"No," she whispered, "Not Flame. She would never do that! How …"

Her voice caught in her throat as she remembered. The Prophecy. Flame was destined to rule the world. But Korse had gotten to her first, before they could, and now she was ruling it from the wrong side.

Then, from behind them, they heard footsteps. Turning around, they saw Synthetic Flame waiting for them forty meters away. Jet, Ghoul and Poison immediately whipped out their ray guns.

"I just want to talk," Flame called, her voice crossing the distance easily. The Fabulous Killjoys looked at her suspiciously. Her ray gun was by her side, but they all knew she could have it on them in a millisecond. Ghoul turned back to Crimson.

"Stay here," he whispered. She tried to interject, but he stopped her, and she knew he was just trying to protect her.

The three killjoys walked cautiously up to the traitor, their ray guns grasped tightly in their hands. Crimson waited behind, as instructed.

"How could you?" Ghoul asked with disgust as soon as they were close enough, "How could you do this? Who are you?"

"I'm who I've got to be," Flame said simply, "The world needs BL/ind. The world needs something faultless,"

"Don't you remember anything?" Poison asked, "Whatever happened to destroying something perfect in order to make it beautiful?"

"The world doesn't need beautiful," she said, "The world needs order and certainty,"

Jet just shook his head. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Flame really had turned against them.

"Don't you want to be able to know that your _daughter_ is going to be safe?" Flame asked Ghoul, and his hand wrapped around the small baby in his jacket protectively.

"And as well-" Flame's voice was cut off by a loud zap. The killjoys whipped around in time to see a Draculoid on the ground, ray gun in hand, and Crimson Pixie as she fell to the ground.


	28. Your Shadow Lives One Without You

The Drac was dead in a millisecond, with three laser wounds to various parts of its body. Shortly after the demise of the Draculoid, the three Fabulous Killjoys were surrounding Crimson, pulling her off the ground. There was a blood splattered ray wound on her back, extremely close to her heart.

"Crimson!" Ghoul was almost crying as Crimson's face contorted in pain from being moved.

Soon the three killjoys had her leaning against a large rock, looking into the faces of Party Poison, Jet Star and Fun Ghoul.

She groaned. The pain was excruciating.

"C'mon Crimson," Ghoul was pleading, "C'mon, we're going to get you through this!"

Crimson Pixie looked up into the face of the killjoy, a weak smile forming on her lips.

"I love you, Ghoul," her voice was awfully frail, as though it took tremendous effort just to form the four words.

Ghoul took Crimson's hand in both of his, tears spilling out of his hazel eyes noiselessly.

Blood as red as her name began to seep through the material of her shirt. The ray wound had passed straight through her.

Crimson's eyes moved on to the small lump inside Ghoul's jacket. He took out the small infant, passing her over to Crimson. She held the baby in her arms, staring lovingly down at the small face.

"Take good care of her, Ghoul," Crimson whispered, handing the child back to its father.

"No, Crimson, don't say things like that!" tears continued to stream down Ghoul's face.

"Where …" it seemed to be getting much harder for Crimson to speak, "Where's … Flame?"

The three killjoys looked around to see Synthetic Flame standing where they had left her, a look of stunned horror plastered on her face. Reluctantly, they motioned her over.

Flame walked jerkily over to the group. The killjoys made way for her as she knelt down beside the dying Crimson.

"Crim …" Flame was almost sobbing.

"Flame," Crimson whispered the name, "Sometimes … Sometimes you h-have to destroy something perfect, because … the world needs beauty. It needs colour. Sameness isn't perfect, it … it's the opposite. The world h-has survived this long with all the fl-flaws beauty has … it can survive a l-little longer. So … make your choice. B-but really th-think about what's best,"

A silent tear fell from Flame's eye, falling down onto the sand.

All the killjoys were silent for a moment, until Crimson sighed.

"The birds," she breathed, "I can here the birds. I'm going to go see Alteration and the birds,"

Then Crimson Pixie closed her eyes, and moved no more.

Ghoul stood up silently, handing his daughter to Poison, and walked a couple of meters away before collapsing onto the sand, his head in his hands. His back shook from the tortured sobs that were raking through his body.

Flame continued to stare at her lifeless friend, her _sister_. Tears flowed from her eyes, mixing in with the dirt on the ground. She too stood up, but instead of crumpling onto the dirt, she ran. She ran far, searching for something, and knowing she couldn't go on until she found it.

Poison and Jet remained beside the deceased girl, and then Poison spoke softly.

"Crimson Pixie," he whispered, "Your shadow will live on without you,"

Then he bowed his head and stood up, followed shortly by Jet. They looked down at her. She looked so peaceful, almost like she was just sleeping. But they knew the truth. If she was sleeping, then she would never wake up.


	29. When Your Heart Begins To Break

Flame ran through the sea of corpses, not looking down at the people she was stepping on. She almost tripped over outstretched arms and legs a couple of times, but still she kept running.

She couldn't believe it. Crimson was dead. Shot down by a _Draculoid_. And Flame couldn't forget the last thing Crimson had said to her …

"_Sometimes … Sometimes you h-have to destroy something perfect, because … the world needs beauty. It needs colour. Sameness isn't perfect, it … it's the opposite. The world h-has survived this long with all the fl-flaws beauty has … it can survive a l-little longer. So … make your choice. B-but really th-think about what's best,"_

More tears flowed out of her already bloodshot eyes. Her chest ached as she tried to overcome the swell of emotion that was threatening to break through her very existence.

Then, she heard a racking cough just ahead. Walking silently towards it, she saw Beautiful Disaster lying on the ground. Or more like the _remains_ of Beautiful Disaster. Her beautiful porcelain face was cracked, and half of it lay on the ground beside her, revealing the pulsating brain. But the thing that Flame noticed the most was her eyes. They were no longer black, but a pale blue.

"K-Korse," Disaster coughed out. A small amount of blood dripped down the side of her face that remained, leaking out of her mouth, "Y-you have to k-kill K-Korse,"

Flame looked curiously down at the broken robot.

"I-I was a k-killjoy once," Disaster wheezed, "B-but K-Korse t-t-took me away, c-changed me into _this_,"

"Y-you have to kill him. With him still alive, th-the world can't go on," Disaster uttered her last words before her brain stopped throbbing, and her eyes turned glassy, lifeless.

Flame continued to stare down at the android girl, trying to piece the new information into her already confused mind.

If what Disaster had said was true, then Korse was a monster, but if she wasn't then it was all a catch. But why would she _ask _her to kill Korse if he truly _was _her master?

Then again, it had been a Drac that had killed Crimson. And who had created the Drac's? Korse. Korse had issued orders for all the killjoys to be killed _except her_.

Flame's eyes widened in recognition. She only then realized that no one that night had attempted to kill her. No lasers had been fired her way. Korse had _known_ that she would choose to join with BL/ind, and he had set it so that none of the Drac's were programmed to shoot her!

Flame was livid. It was _Korse_ who had killed Crimson. He thought that she would make a powerful ally? Well how about a dangerous _enemy_?

* * *

A few minutes after Flame had run off, Poison walked over and went to sit down beside Ghoul. He put his arm around the killjoy sympathetically as Ghoul continued to cry.

They sat there for a couple of minutes, the two best friends, not speaking. Then it was Poison who broke the silence.

"She's in a better place," he said softly, patting Ghoul on the back,

Ghoul sniffed and nodded once before turning to look at the red haired Fabulous Killjoy.

"She can see her sister again," Ghoul whispered, his voice heavy with tears, "She can finally see her sister and the birds,"

He broke into a fresh wave of tears, and Poison hugged him tightly, tears forming in his own eyes.

Jet stood away from the two killjoys, beside Crimson's body. He looked around, and spotted a white tarp not too far away. He walked over and picked it up before returning to Crimson's side. He placed her body on the white tarp, and enveloped her inside it, like a caterpillar inside a cocoon.

Poison walked over, taking Ghoul's daughter from Jet, so that Jet could pick up Crimson. The body was light from all the years of living on nothing but rations. Jet carried Crimson as they walked along through the sand and bodies.

The rain continued to fall on Battery City, the clouds churning high above them in the methane skies. Ghoul ran through the rain to catch up with his friends. Taking his daughter from Poison, Ghoul held her tightly, hearing her racing heart-beat.

"There, there," he whispered soothingly into the infant's ear, "I'll keep you safe. I promised her I'd keep you safe. Nothing will ever happen to you,"

Silent tears spilled from Ghoul's eyes, and in turn, his daughter cried loudly, a sweet lament for her mother, and it filled the silence that enveloped Battery City, reaching every corner, until grief seemed to flow through the very sand below their feet.


	30. Finger On The Trigger

Flame ran across Battery City, kicking up sand as her feet sped along the dirt. She now knew what she was searching for. _Who_ she was searching for.

Korse was at the heart of everything. He was the one who had gotten that _thing_ to capture her, to make her see the turmoil that was happening on the battlefield, and to make her think it was the killjoy's fault, for fighting for what they believed was right.

Korse was a coward, sending all those brainwashed Draculoids out there to do his bidding. Flame knew that the Fabulous Killjoys would _never _ask that of a fellow killjoy. They would _never _ask someone to risk their life for them. No killjoy would.

As she ran across Battery City, she heard the cries of the wounded, the weak. But she didn't stop to help them. She couldn't. She had to defeat Korse, or everything they'd set out to do all those months ago would be for nothing.

Flame dashed across the city, searching for the one building where she knew Korse would be. She didn't know _how_ she knew, she just did.

Sure enough, as she approached the laboratories, an outline of a man was visible against the multicoloured flames that burned on, even through the heavy downpour.

"Korse!" she shouted, although she had no doubt that he knew she was there. He looked up anyway, his pale eyes reflecting the dancing inferno. Flame's face remained impassive. She didn't want to give anything away just yet.

"Synthetic Flame," Korse replied after a moment of silence, "You've chosen then?"

Flame nodded. She also knew Korse hadn't needed to ask that question. He'd known the answer from the very moment she'd shot Ladyboy down. He was always watching.

"But something made you question your choice?" why was he asking all these questions when he already knew the answer? Flame nodded again.

"And what was it that made you change your mind?" Flame shuddered ever so slightly. She did not want to have to explain to Korse about Crimson, even though she was certain he already knew. That was why he was asking the questions. He wanted to make her feel uncomfortable, to get her to let her guard down. Well it wasn't going to work.

"A couple of moments ago, my best friend, my _sister_, was murdered by one of your Draculoids. How can you expect me to still be on your side after that?"

Korse just continued to stare at her, his face impassive.

"Just because you don't have emotions, or wouldn't give a second glance if you saw someone _murdering someone_, doesn't mean the rest of the world shares your views. You're a cold hearted killer who's too cowardly to send himself out there, instead leaving all the dirty work to mindless zombies who don't have a choice," Flame was really getting angry now, letting all of her emotions escape through her words.

"But now it's your turn to face it. There's no Drac's to take the fall this time," Flame motioned around her at the many dead Draculoid corpses that littered the ground, "It's just you and me,"

Flame raised her ray gun high, aiming it straight at Korse's heart. She wanted to kill him so bad at that moment, but she forced herself to wait. She knew she would consider it murder if his gun wasn't pointed at her as well.

Deliberately slow, Korse reached down, extracting his ray gun from its holster, readying it, and raising it so that it was in line with Flame's.

At that exact moment, Flame felt a surge from within her, and all she could see was a mass of red hair smirking at her, the killjoy's yellow ray gun raised much like Korse's had been only a second before. Ashes flew through the air, and then there was a flash of red light and the world exploded.

The sensation was gone as soon as it had appeared. Party Poison was no longer standing in front of her, Korse was. The world had not exploded into a flash of light. She was still here, standing in front of the burning laboratories, staring death in the face.

Flame shut her eyes tight. She knew that if it was her time to leave, she wanted to remember the world exactly how it was _before_ all this, before BL/ind, before 2012, before _everything_. She wanted to remember birds, and flowers, and _freedom_. She called forth all the memories that she had left, everything that she loved. Her old friends that had perished, her new friends that she hoped would survive, and Crimson. Most of all Crimson.

Flame felt her gloved hand tighten on the ray gun, and when she exhaled, she found her breathing shaky, and her heart was beating so fast she thought it was going to jump out of her chest.

"Let this world explode," she whispered to herself before she pulled the trigger.

* * *

The hovercraft appeared in front of the Fabulous Killjoys after a few moments of walking. Dr. D and Missile Kid walked out the opening hatch.

"Kobra's going to be fine, although …" Dr. D stopped when he saw the killjoys, "Wha …? What's happened? Jet, why do you have a body bag, and Ghoul, is … is that a baby?"

Ghoul sniffed sub-consciously, and Jet shook his head jerkily, his eyes widening in warning. Dr. D dropped the subject quickly, ushering the killjoys into the hovercraft. Poison, however, remained behind.

"You coming, P.P.?" Dr. D asked,

"Nah, give me a minute, will you?" Dr. D shrugged and walked back to the hovercraft.

Party Poison didn't know why he needed to stay behind, he just had a gut feeling that there was something he needed to see, something he had to witness before he left this place. He just didn't know what yet.

Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw a flash of purple. Spinning around, he saw in the distance, a tuft of purple hair, and he knew it was Flame.

Anger flared up in him. How could Flame have just run away, leaving them all there with Crimson? How much more cowardly could you get?

But then Poison realized what she was doing. She had her ray gun raised high up to … _Korse_? She couldn't possibly …

And then there were two bright flashes of light at the same time, one of them flashing by its target, the other hitting it straight on. Poison watched in indescribable happiness as Korse's immobile body fell to meet the others on the ground.

Flame had done it. She'd killed Korse, a thing that none of them were able to do. Korse, the head of BL/ind, was dead.

Poison watched as Flame turned around and ran, ran away from Battery City. He watched her until she was no more than a speck on the horizon, then he turned around, and walked back to the hovercraft to start a new life, a free life.


	31. The Kids From YesterdayEpilogue

Six years had passed since the downfall of BL/ind. The world hadn't yet gotten back to the way it was before the fires, and most people never believed it would.

But things had changed. Small communities were starting to spring up everywhere because people weren't afraid anymore. They didn't _have_ to run. They didn't _have_ to hide.

The name 'Killjoy' had slowly died away along the years until it was barely used at all. Very few people still referred to themselves as 'killjoys', out of respect for the things they'd done, but most just went back to using the name they'd had before 2012, _if_ they could remember it.

Some still wouldn't believe that Korse was truly dead, and the world was no longer under his control. No matter how much Party Poison, now calling himself Gerard Way, assured them, they would not believe. Most left the communities to wander the desert, searching for Draculoids that they would never find.

The Kobra Kid, now going by Michael, or Mikey Way, was still in a wheelchair. He refused to allow the trained doctors to give him false legs. He said that he wanted to be reminded of everything that had happened, so that it would never happen again. He still mourned the loss of his child and wife, even now, but he learned to live, to channel the pain into other emotions. He mostly recalled them back to his memory to remind himself that BL/ind had destroyed them, along with millions of others, but now that BL/ind was gone, he felt he could be at peace.

Jet Star (now Ray Toro), had gone back to what he was good at: music. He played guitar for the children that ran about the community that they called home, and he played it for himself, to remind him of the days before 2012. The world wasn't like it was back then, but it was beautiful. And it was what they needed.

One day, a stranger appeared in the community where Gerard, Mikey and Ray lived. The stranger wore a white cloak with the hood pulled up over its head, so that its face wasn't visible. It walked slowly through the cobblestone streets that had sprung up, and stopped in front of a small, but cozy house, with a green door and a hanging flowerpot with scarlet flowers hanging above the door. The stranger knocked on the door, a loud rapping sound echoing through the street.

After a moment the green door opened, giving way to a man with dark brown hair and hazel eyes, and to a small child of about six with the same hair as the man's, but someone else's shocking emerald eyes.

"Fun Ghoul," the stranger said, and her voice was definitely female. The man looked suspiciously down at the hooded stranger.

"No one has called me 'Fun Ghoul' in six years," he said, "It's Frank. Frank Iero. Just like before 2012,"

The stranger just nodded, unable to take her eyes off the small child that looked exactly how _she_ had done before. The resemblance was eerie, and it caught the stranger off guard.

"Uhm, I don't mean to be rude," Frank said after a moment of silence, "But could you please remove your hood?"

The stranger sighed. Slowly, she brought her hand up to the soft hood that cloaked her face and pulled it downward.

Instinctively, Frank reached behind him for the ray gun that had been present on the table beside the door since the day he'd moved into that house. It was always ready, and he pointed it straight between the figure's eyes.

"Synthetic Flame," he muttered, rage boiling up inside him.

"Daddy …?" the small child spoke, but her father quickly pushed her behind him.

"Stay back, Crimson," he warned the little girl, and she cowered against his leg.

Flame's arms had been raised above her head, but the second she heard the child's name, a wave of respect and love had washed over her.

"Y-you named her after her," Flame had managed to whisper through the tears that were beginning to form.

"Did you think you could just come back, after all these years," Frank said through gritted teeth, ignoring Flame's first remark, "And everything would be alright? Did you think that just because you killed him, we would forget about everything else you'd done? Kobra - I mean Mikey - is in a wheelchair because you went and blasted his legs off!"

The gun was still raised, ready to blow Flame's brains out at any second, but she didn't look at it. Instead, she looked straight into Frank's eyes, hoping that he would see the remorse inside them.

"No," she finally whispered, "I didn't think you would forgive me, and I _know_ you shouldn't. I did horrifying things that still haunt me, both in my dreams and when I'm awake. I see Ladyboy's face in my mind everyday, and I know that I've been a monster. But I had to come here. I had to tell you that I'm sorry, even though you'll never forgive me. Because I can't live with the guilt hanging over my head, and it's taken me six long years to figure that out.

"With Korse dead, I don't know what to do with myself," Flame continued, "I was born to be a killjoy, and now that there's nothing left to fight off, I'm just living emptiness,"

"Crimson never told you, did she?" Frank asked, and Flame shook her head. Frank sighed.

"There was a prediction, a prophesy of sorts," he explained, "It said that you could be the world's most powerful leader. Korse was counting on you being on his side, and for a while, you where. But when you turned against him, you must have messed things up. You weren't supposed to kill Korse, but you did. I don't think you were supposed to survive, but you did that too. You broke the prophesy. You're not the leader of mankind, and that's why you feel empty,"

Flame shook her head, taking in all the information. From the very moment BL/ind had taken her and her parents, her life had been predicted and Korse had been after her.

"But I can't be the leader of mankind," she said softly, "I could never trust myself with that kind of power. What if I turned again, even if BL/ind is gone. What if _I_ was the new Korse, and started the new BL/ind?"

Frank nodded.

"That's why I think you have to leave," he said, "You _can't_ be the leader of everyone, and you know it too. You have to leave, for the best of everyone,"

Flame nodded. She knew what Frank was saying was right. She had to leave, for fear of destroying everything all over again. But before she did, she had something important to say. Flame looked down at the little girl.

"Crimson," she said softly, "You have to know that your mother was the most amazing person I had the good fortune to meet. She was incredibly brave, and fearless, and I will never forget her. She was, and always be, my sister, and you have to know that she loved you until the very end. I'm sure she's up in heaven watching over you every day,"

Crimson nodded, fat tears dripping out of her emerald eyes that were so like her mother's. Flame looked up once more at Frank.

"We're the kids of yesterday," she said softly, "We've had our time, and now it's theirs,"

Frank nodded silently and Flame swallowed before walking away from the house. When she reached the road, she turned around to face Frank and Crimson, who were still standing in the doorway.

"And Frank," she said, "It's no longer Synthetic Flame. From now on, it's Lozzie,"

Frank nodded, and watched as she walked away, pulling her white hood up as she did.

Once she'd reached the end, where the community turned into the desert, she turned around to stare at what might have been. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a flash of red, and turned to face it. Poison was standing on the porch of a house, looking at her. Slowly, he raised his hand up to his forehead in a salute. She did the same, smiling, before turning around and leaving the community, headed for the horizon.

**A/N : And so, after 31 chapters, 84 pages, 1,053 paragraphs, 2,350 sentences, 31,498 words, and 143,359 characters, our story comes to a close. I just want to thank everyone that has supported me throughout this journey that I'll surely remember :3 I love all of you so much, and I can't say thank you enough for making this such a big part of my life 3 Blood And Roses may be over, but I'm not. I'll keep on writing as long as there's people to write for. So check out my other stories, and hey, you never know, I might see some familiar faces :)**

**Thank you all once again for everything. I love you with all my little black heart ;) 333**

THE END.


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